According to a new poll from McLaughlin & Associates, a whopping 84 percent of Alabama voters support a constitutional amendment to institute term limits for members of congress. Currently, representatives and senators can serve as long as they are continually reelected.
The survey revealed that 89 percent of Alabama Republican voters and 79 percent of state Democrats are in favor of term limits. It also showed that 81 percent of those questioned wanted their state representative to vote in favor of such a measure, while only 3 percent wanted it to be opposed.
“The public’s message is clear: it’s time for term limits on Congress,” said. Nick Tomboulides, Director of U.S. Term Limits. “They are overwhelmingly in favor of this common-sense reform.”
Results were calculated by surveying 400 likely general election voters registered in Alabama. The poll was conducted in March of 2016, and the process consisted of phone interviews conducted by researchers at McLaughlin.
Putting term limits on Congress would require a constitutional amendment because no such restriction exists in Article II. Article V of the U.S. Constitution outlines the amendment process, which can be done in one of two ways. The language of an Amendment can be drafted by either a convention of the states – called for by two-thirds of such – or by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress. The amendment must then be approved by three-fourths of the states, which can be done by the state legislatures or special state ratifying conventions.
Originally, the Constitution did not contain term limits for the president, either. Every president prior to Franklin D. Roosevelt had honored the tradition established by George Washington of stepping aside after a second term. In 1951, presidential term limits where officially enshrined into the law with the Twenty-Second Amendment.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.