In 1901, almost 80 percent of the electorate in Shelby County voted against the ratification of the 1901 Constitution, which gives too much power to the state legislature over local affairs.

Those voters joined 31 other counties in the state that voted against the ratification. Had it not been for the voter fraud in the Black Belt counties, the ratification of our current constitution would not have happened.

If you fast forward to the November 4, 2008 election, you will see some of the effects of the fundamentally-flawed 1901 constitution.

One item on the ballot concerned a local school district in Limestone County. People in that county voted against the measure. However, the amendment passed because there were a majority of voters statewide who voted in favor of it.

Sections 286 and 287 of our current constitution give us two options to reform our governing social contract. The first path is by amendment.

To date, voters have amended Alabama’s constitution over 800 times, making it the longest state constitution in the world.

The second option is through a constitution convention, which is the path a growing number of individuals and organizations are supporting.

Alabama’s next Convention will be historic since it will be the first time in our state’s history that women will actually have a seat at the table to draft it.

I encourage you to get involved in this fundamentally important issue.

Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, a non-partisan, education organization, provides information about getting involved on our Web site: www.constitutionalreform.org.

Alabama’s 1901 Constitution erodes the educational systems, discourages citizen involvement and creates an extraordinarily inefficient government. We still live under a constitution that was born out of a fraudulent vote in 1901. Please join the movement to write a new legacy for our state.