Alabama State Representative, District 56

Ontario Tillman has represented District 56 (Bessemer) in the Alabama House since November 2022¹². He taught in Bessemer City Schools for about ten years and is now a partner at the Maxwell Tillman Law Firm; he holds special education degrees from Alabama A&M University and a law degree from Miles Law School⁴¹. He is the only candidate on the ballot for the seat in the November 3, 2026 general election¹.

Where they stand 8 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• Election rulesPhoto ID, but with free IDs and more early votinglow

  Official action · low confidence

  • Voted against House passage of SB1, which made it a crime to distribute pre-filled absentee ballot applications or to be paid for helping voters with them (passed 75 to 28). (2024-03-07) source
  • Was the lead sponsor of HB64, which would make Election Day a state holiday; it did not advance. (2025) source
  • Was listed as a cosponsor of HB270, which would set up in-person early voting; it did not become law. (2026-01-15) source
• Religion in schoolsSupport laws requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms and optional prayer periodslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted for House passage of HB178, which would have required public K-12 schools to display the Ten Commandments in a common area (passed the House 81 to 11; it died in the Senate). (2025-04-17) source
  • Recorded as abstaining on House passage of SB99, the 2026 Ten Commandments display law (passed 81 to 10). (2026-04-09) source
• School choiceNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted against final House passage of HB129, the CHOOSE Act, which created state-funded education savings accounts that families can use for private school tuition and other education costs (passed 69 to 34). (2024-02-27) source
  • Described himself as 'a public school person' but said his mindset was not to take anything off the table, including charter schools, in looking at what is best for students. (2023-02-08) source
• Policing and crimeNo single answer fitslow

  Official action · low confidence

  • Was the lead sponsor of HB536, which would create a PTSD treatment program for law enforcement officers; it did not advance. (2025) source
  • His campaign site lists reforming the criminal justice system, reducing gun violence and expanding mental health access among his priorities. (2026) source
• DEI programsNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted against House passage of SB129, which bars public colleges and state agencies from maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion offices or programs and restricts teaching of listed divisive concepts (passed 75 to 28). (2024-03-07) source
• Qualified immunityNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted against House passage of HB202, which expanded law enforcement officers' immunity from civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution over use of force and created a pretrial immunity hearing (passed 75 to 26), and voted against concurring in the final version on May 14, 2025 (73 to 28). (2025-03-06) source
• ImmigrationNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted for House passage of SB53, which created state crimes of human smuggling and concealing a person living in the country illegally and required jails to check detainees' immigration status (passed 80 to 18). (2025-05-06) source
• Business regulationNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted against House passage of SB71, which bars state agencies from adopting environmental rules stricter than federal requirements without a stated justification (passed 68 to 34). (2026-02-17) source

No public position found on: Safety net programs, Minimum wage, Healthcare, Abortion, Guns, Energy and climate, Curriculum and books, Housing and growth, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Marijuana, Gender care for minors, Redistricting, Term limits, Campaign finance, Electoral College, Ranked-choice voting, Death penalty, Mandatory minimums, Drug prices, Childcare and pre-K, Paid leave, Student loans, AI regulation, Kids online, School vaccines, Nuclear power, E-Verify mandate, Transgender athletes, China policy.