Today is Alabama’s deadline for those wishing to register to vote in the Nov. 8 general election. To become a registered voter in Alabama, a person must be 18 years old on or before election day, be a United States citizen, reside in Alabama and have an Alabama driver’s license or Alabama non-driver ID. Those convicted of disqualifying felonies are disbarred from participating in the election, unless they have had their civil rights restored.
Applications can be filed in-person at each county’s Board of Registrars or electronically at alabamavotes.gov.
Many have registered this cycle already. In fact, Alabama has approximately 3.3 million registered voters; a number up 500,000 from the mid-term elections in 2014. However, others have procrastinated, and the secretary of state’s office told the Alabama News Network that it anticipates a surge in applications today.
“I think we’re going to continue to see people fill out applications, try and get registered. We anticipate the highest voter turnout in the state for this general election,” said Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R).
Alabama voters are also subject to the state’s voter ID law. Upon checking-in at their precinct, voters must present one of the pre-approved forms of identification, such as an Alabama driver’s license. If someone does not have one of the approved forms of ID, he or she may apply to get one from the state for free.
While the presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton has gotten the lion’s share of the press, Alabama’s state government and various localities have important offices up for grabs as well. On the federal level, the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Richard Shelby (R) is in contention, as are the seats of Alabama’s seven U.S. House Representatives. Statewide, Alabamians will consider fourteen amendments to the state constitution that can be approved with a majority of the vote.
To see what issues are coming to a vote in your community, you can check out sample ballots on the Secretary of State’s website linked here.
