HB346 Summary

• Converts circuit and district court judge elections from partisan (party-affiliated) to nonpartisan elections with candidates appearing on ballots without party designation.

• Requires candidates for circuit or district court judgeships to file declarations of candidacy with the Secretary of State at least 60 days before primary elections and prohibits any party affiliation designation.

• Establishes a qualifying fee of 2 percent of the annual salary for the judicial office, to be deposited into the State General Fund, with an option to file an affidavit of indigency in lieu of payment.

• Creates a separate "Official Nonpartisan Judicial Ballot" section on all election ballots listing all judicial candidates in alphabetical order by surname, with no party emblems or designations.

• Requires all judicial candidates to appear on general election ballots regardless of primary election results, with top two primary vote-getters advancing if no candidate achieves a majority; ties resolved by the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in presence of the Governor.