Election Day turnout in Alabama expected to be 45% to 50%

Brian Lyman, The Tuscaloosa News
·2 min read
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Alabamians head to the polls Tuesday to choose state leaders, state legislators and members of Congress.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Voters should have photo ID with them before voting. A person who is in line when polls close at 7 p.m. will still be eligible to cast a ballot.

Voters enter the polling place at East McFarland Baptist Church ot cast ballots in the Tuscaloosa municipal elections Tuesday, March 2, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]
Voters enter the polling place at East McFarland Baptist Church ot cast ballots in the Tuscaloosa municipal elections Tuesday, March 2, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]

Secretary of State John Merrill Monday said he expects turnout to be between 45% and 50% of registered voters. That would be at or slightly lower than turnout for the last midterms in 2018, when turnout was 49.8%.

“I think have a little higher number in Mobile, a little higher in Huntsville, and I think that our numbers there will be higher because of legislative races,” Merrill said.

Republicans are heavily favored in most statewide races this year, both at the federal and state level. The GOP is also assured of maintaining control of the Alabama Legislature; neither the Democratic nor the Libertarian Party, fielding a slate of federal, state and legislative candidates, put up enough candidates to challenge control.

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Voters will also consider several proposed changes to the Alabama Constitution. These include:

  • Measures to remove racist language from the document, created to disenfranchise Blacks and poor whites;

  • Amendment 1, which would allow judges to deny bail for individuals charged with 13 violent felonies after a hearing on the matter;

  • Amendment 3, which would require the governor to notify the attorney general and family of a murder victim should he or she commute a death sentence;

  • A property tax increase in the Central and Daniel Pratt school zones in Autauga County that would be used for capital improvements.

Contested legislative races in Montgomery and Tuscaloosa include:

  • House District 74, where incumbent Rep. Charlotte Meadows, R-Montgomery, is running against Democratic nominee Phillip Ensler, an attorney. The district is considered Democrats’ best chance to flip a GOP seat this year.

  • House District 69, where incumbent Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, D-Hayneville, faces Republican challenger Karla Maddox.

  • Senate District 21, where incumbent Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, faces Democratic challenger Lisa Ward;

  • House District 63, where incumbent Rep Cynthia Almond, R-Tuscaloosa, faces Democratic challenger Samuel Adams.

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This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Election Day turnout in Alabama expected to be 45% to 50%