Alabama’s primary runoff election went off with only minor hiccups this week, and voter turnout across the state landed squarely within what election officials had projected, according to figures released by the Alabama Secretary of State’s office.
Statewide turnout for Tuesday’s runoff came in at 12.7 percent, with just under 464,600 ballots cast out of roughly 3.65 million registered voters across Alabama. Secretary of State John Merrill said his office had projected turnout somewhere between 10 and 15 percent heading into the runoff, and the final numbers landed right in that range.
Locally, Mobile County saw a lighter turnout than the state as a whole. Out of 308,710 registered voters in the county, 25,914 ballots were cast, for a turnout rate of 8.4 percent. Baldwin County outpaced both Mobile County and the statewide average, with 22,373 of its 184,341 registered voters turning out, a rate of 12.1 percent.
Merrill said the election ran smoothly from an operational standpoint, though he acknowledged a handful of polling places in Montgomery and Birmingham did not open on time Tuesday morning. One Birmingham polling location did not open its doors until 8:30 a.m., roughly an hour and a half after polls were supposed to open at 7 a.m.
Merrill’s office secured court orders in both cities allowing the affected polling places to stay open later in the day to make up for the lost time, and he said no complaints were filed regarding how those situations were handled. Still, he noted the delays were unusual: polling locations opening late has not happened during his nearly eight years as Secretary of State.
Merrill also said his office has not received any reports of cross-over voting, voter fraud or other irregularities connected to the runoff. Any challenges to the results are expected to follow next Tuesday’s certification, once outstanding provisional ballots have been counted.
In Mobile County, Probate Judge Don Davis said the runoff proceeded smoothly on the local level as well. He noted that Tuesday’s election was only the third to be run under the county’s newer electronic voter registration system, and said poll workers are still adjusting to the technology. Davis pointed out that the average age of poll workers in the county falls between 70 and 75 years old, which he said contributes to a learning curve when new systems are introduced.
Davis said his office dealt with two medical situations involving poll workers on election day. One poll worker fainted prior to the opening of polls, and an election inspector working in Mount Vernon became ill during the day and required care. A county office worker had to be sent out to oversee that Mount Vernon polling location while the situation was addressed.
With the runoff behind them, Davis said preparations are already underway for the November general election. He said one of his office’s top priorities in the coming months will be filling vacancies among election inspector positions across the county, several of which remain open ahead of the fall election cycle.
Residents interested in serving as election inspectors for the November general election can contact the Mobile County election center at 251-574-6082 for more information on open positions and how to apply.