Alabama’s legislature was the most conservative lawmaking body in the country in 2021, a study from the Center for Legislative Accountability reported.
The Center for Legislative Accountability, a project of the Conservative Political Action Conference Foundation and the American Conservative Union Foundation, ranked each legislature based on votes across 186 policy categories.
Alabama’s legislature reportedly voted conservative in 74% of votes tracked.
Outgoing Rep. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals), who will become state auditor in January, reportedly voted conservative on 100% of the bills tracked by the organization in 2021 — making him listed as one of the most conservative lawmakers in the country.
The study also reported high levels of polarization measured from a conservative standpoint. Nationally, Republican state lawmakers voted conservative 80.9% of the time, while Democrats voted conservative 15.9% of the time, CLA reported.
“The 64.99 percentage point divide between the two political parties marks the highest level of political polarization since the CLA became the first and only organization to track such data in 2015,” the report read.
Overall, Alabama’s Senate voted conservative 67% of the time and the state House voted conservative 58% of the time, compared to 78% in the Senate and 70% in the House in 2021.
Alabama’s highest policy priorities were:
- Federalism and Local Empowerment
- Energy and Environment
- Property Rights
Alabama’s weakest policy priorities were:
- Government Integrity and Transparency
- Health Care
- Taxes, Budget and Spending
The legislature has become more and more conservative since 1972. When it came to particular issues, Alabama’s votes shifted.
Lawmakers voted conservative 81% of the time on issues pertaining to the Second Amendment, 91% in regard to education policy, 82% in relation to elections and 94% on issues concerning property rights. Lawmakers voted conservative 100% of the time on policies regarding energy and the environment and 99% of the time on policies about federalism, the report showed.
Outgoing Rep. Ralph Howard (D-Greensboro), Rep. TaShina Morris (D-Montgomery) and Rep. Neil Rafferty (D-Birmingham) were the least likely to vote conservative in 2021.
The 2023 legislative session will begin in March.
