Voters in Alabama will be tasked with deciding if they want to tap into an emergency trust fund to bridge the state’s budget gap on Sept. 18. If the vote is defeated and no agreement is made in the legislature, then the state budget will need to be cut by 17 percent.

Some Alabama students are very active in the run up to the vote as the debate has laid bare a split in the statewide Republican party.

In a press release, the Student Government Association announced its support of the ballot measure due to potential cuts in state education spending.

“If the amendment is not passed, money to fund these agencies will most likely come from the Education Trust Fund, which would cause cuts to higher education and K-12 education,” according to the SGA statement.

While the SGA is speculating about the potential of budget cuts further down the road, Alabama’s nursing home community is bracing for a more immediate crisis.

“There is a very real chance that you would see nursing homes close if this referendum failed,” John Matson, the spokesman for the Alabama Nursing Home Association, said via a phone interview.

Matson said 70 percent of nursing homes in Alabama receive their funding through Medicaid. Medicaid is the government health care program for low-income and disabled Americans. It receives most of its funding from the state general fund and is on the chopping block if another solution is not agreed upon. Matson said many of those homes could not survive a large cut in Medicaid funds.

The nursing association is so concerned about the prospect of Medicaid cuts due to the defeat of the amendment that they have donated $350,000 in campaign contributions to the pro-yes vote group Keep Alabama Working.

Keep Alabama Working claims that the consequences of not passing the amendment would be dire for the future of the state. According to its website, keepalabamaworking.com, 9,500 state inmates would be released from prison while 8,800 children would lose their child care due to cuts from the Department of Human Resources. The group also says 10,483 jobs will be lost statewide as the GDP of Alabama would lose half a billion dollars.

“This is a constitutional amendment that was proposed by state legislators and passed overwhelmingly by Republicans and Democrats as a way to get through this difficult economic period,” Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement. “This is the most difficult economic period the state has faced in many years.”

Bentley is encouraging voters to vote yes.

Zan Green is the president of the Rainy Day Patriots Tea Party and will be voting against the change next Tuesday.

Green said that Governor Bentley is wrong in his support of the measure.

“I don’t understand why the people we fought so hard to send to Montgomery are kicking the can down the road,” Green said. “I’m not the brightest bulb in the building, but I just know that if you spend more than you take in, then you are eventually going to run out of space to rob Peter to pay Paul.”

The chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, Bill Armistead said this issue has divided the state GOP.

“We were pretty well split between those that supported it and those who oppose it,” Armistead said.

The state party has decided not to pick sides in the vote but Armistead understands the enormity of what’s at stake.

“We’ve never been in this difficult of a position before,” Armistead said. “If there has ever been a time to borrow money, now is it.”

And while other members of his party are venting due to the perceived betrayal of the governor and legislature to conservative ideals, Armistead holds out hope for the future.

“I do think that this governor and legislature want to fix the problem, they just need a little more time,” Armistead said.

Regan Williams is the chairman of the College Republicans. Williams agrees that there is a rift in the state GOP and said it was the same on campus. He is reluctantly supporting the measure and does not agree with concerns of the Tea Party.

“I hate to devalue their concerns, but it’s [the trust fund] there for when we need it,” Williams said. “We have to fix it somehow, and that’s what a rainy day fund is for.”

Republican State Rep. John Merrill represents Tuscaloosa in Montgomery and is lobbying for a yes vote.

“I’ve spoken to several groups, had phone calls with constituents and social media interactions with constituents letting them know what the situation will be if this does not pass,” Merrill said.

He also disagreed with Tea Party objections.

“If you don’t like what we’re doing, then come up with a better plan,” Merrill said. “I’m certainly hopeful that it will pass.”