Want to name Alabama's honorable turkeys this Thanksgiving? Vote in Gov. Kay Ivey's poll

With just under three weeks until Thanksgiving Day, Gov. Kay Ivey is making sure every Alabamian knows that the countdown is on. She released a poll Friday on the social media app X, formerly known as Twitter, asking for the public’s help in deciding what to name the turkeys that she will pardon in a short 20 days.

“It’s a milestone! The 75th Annual Alabama Turkey Pardoning is almost here, and I need YOU to decide our special pair of turkeys,” Ivey wrote. “Local students helped me come up with names, and now it’s your turn to cast your vote.”

A clucking turkey emoji accompanied her call to her constituency.

The name options are as follows:

• Cluck and Dolly

• Giblet and Puddin’

• Rosemary and Sage

• Butterball and Maple

Ivey’s poll will close at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 6. At the time of publication, the names leading the race are Giblet and Puddin’.

The traditions spans back to 1949 when Gov. James Folsom first pardoned a pair of turkeys from Bates Turkey Farm in Lowndes County.

This is only the second year that Alabamians have had a say in the names of the pardoned turkeys. Before that, each pardoned pair always held the names Clyde and Henrietta, chosen by the late Bates Turkey Farm owner Bill Bates. For years, Bates would not say how he arrived at the name Clyde, but he did tell the Greenville Advocate that Bates Turkey Farm keeps all of its Clydes separate from the other turkeys.

Last year, Cranberry and Gobbles were the winning names. Since receiving their pardons, Cranberry and Gobbles have returned to life on the farm in Fort Deposit. The same bucolic fate awaits this year’s pair of turkeys.

Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: How you can help name Alabama's pardoned turkeys this Thanksgiving