What to look for on Tuesday's 2020 general election ballot

The 2020 general election to be held on Tuesday, November 3, is set to feature highly contested races across the nation, including in Alabama.

The Yellowhammer State’s most anticipated contest is the U.S. Senate matchup between incumbent Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) and Republican nominee Tommy Tuberville.

All publicly released independent polling in the race has shown Tuberville with a double-digit lead, which was also reflected in his most recent publicly released internal numbers. However, like every race, the only poll that matters comes on Election Day, with turnout always being the deciding factor.

On the front of Alabama ballots, voters will also obviously find the presidential bout between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden; the Republican vice presidential nominee is Vice President Mike Pence, while Democrats chose Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA).

In Alabama, Jones has tied his senatorial campaign to his party’s presidential ticket, running a race that is indistinguishable from the Biden-Harris campaign.

Next on the statewide ballot, Alabama voters will get to choose the president of the Public Service Commission; Republican Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, an honorary co-chair of Trump’s reelection campaign in the state, is running for reelection herself to this position.

She has been a champion of cutting government waste, ending job-killing regulations, returning money to taxpayers and advancing common sense energy policies that support affordable, reliable power generation for hardworking Alabama families.

Additionally, there are uncontested races for appellate judgeships on the statewide ballot. State Rep. Matt Fridy (R-Montevallo) will be elected to the Court of Civil Appeals. Presiding Judge Mary Windom and Judge Beth Kellum will be reelected to the Court of Criminal Appeals, while Judge Bill Thompson will be reelected to the Court of Civil Appeals; Associate Justices Greg Shaw and Brad Mendheim will also be elected to fresh terms on the Supreme Court of Alabama. All aforementioned judges are Republicans.

There are a handful of congressional races around the state.

In Alabama’s First Congressional District, Republican nominee Jerry Carl will face Democrat James Averhart.

Former State Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) is running against Democrat Phyllis Harvey-Hall in AL-02.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (AL-03) faces a challenge from Democrat Adia Winfrey.

U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-04) will face-off against Democrat Rick Neighbors.

U.S. Reps. Mo Brooks (AL-05), Gary Palmer (AL-06) and Terri Sewell (AL-07) are all unopposed in their respective districts.

Read about the six statewide constitutional amendment referendums on the ballot here.

There are also a number of local races around the Yellowhammer State, as well as local amendments, so be sure to fill out the back of Tuesday’s ballot, as well.

Yellowhammer News will operate a live election results blog, starting just before 7:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday when polls close. Tune in then for comprehensive coverage of Alabama’s races.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn