As of August 14, 154 statewide ballot measures had been certified for ballots in 36 states for the general election on November 6, slightly below the average of 173 state ballot measures in even-numbered years since 2010.

This is part one of a series of blog posts on some of the ballot measures that voters in 36 states will address in the upcoming elections. I’ll go through the states alphabetically and hope to be done by the time the election rolls around. My main guide will be a handy web site known at Ballotpedia, a place to go for all kinds of voting-related news and history.

First state up is Alabama

There are four ballot measures to be voted on in Alabama in November. Two of them, which would actually amend Alabama’s constitution, caught my attention.

Amendment One proposes amending the state constitution to authorize the display of the Ten Commandments on public property, including public schools. The amendment also contains a provision preventing any public funds from being spent to defend the amendment in court.

This amendment is a “legislatively referred constitutional amendment,” meaning that it appears on the ballot because the state’s legislature voted to put it before the voters.

The second noteworthy ballot measure in Alabama relates to abortion. Amendment Two would make it state policy to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life, and to state that no provisions of the constitution provide a right to an abortion or require funding of abortions.

This amendment is also a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. Based on past experience, it is hard for me to believe that these amendments, if passed, would not be challenged in the courts by those who oppose them.