What Clarke County Voters Need to Know Ahead of Aug. 11 Special Primary

Clarke County voters head to the polls Aug. 11 in a special Republican primary to determine who will face Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell in the Nov. 3 general election, with low turnout expected.

Two Republican candidates are on the ballot: Ammie Akin, who describes herself as an entrepreneur, educator and advocate for individuals with disabilities, and David Perry, a retired pastor who previously ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the state school board. Neither candidate has held elected office. Sewell, seeking her ninth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, does not face a primary challenger.

Turnout expected to be light

Turnout is expected to fall below the 14.5% of registered Clarke County voters who cast ballots in the June 16 runoff, which cost the county approximately $97,000 to administer.

There is no crossover rule in effect for the Aug. 11 election, meaning any registered voter may cast a ballot in the Republican primary regardless of how they voted in earlier 2026 primaries. There will be no runoff in this race.

Polls in Clarke County will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The only change to a polling location in the county is in Fulton, where voting will move from the old fire station to the new fire station.

Why there’s a special election

All of Clarke County sits within Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, as it has for most of the past decade, with the exception of a small portion of the county that was shifted two years ago into the newly created 2nd Congressional District. That district was ordered drawn by federal courts to help elect a second Black member of Congress from Alabama; Shomari Figures won that seat, giving the state two Black members of the U.S. House alongside Sewell for the first time in its history.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to revert to congressional maps drawn by the Alabama Legislature in 2023 that include only one minority-opportunity district, a decision that stemmed from a Louisiana redistricting case holding that race cannot be a factor in how districts are drawn. That ruling altered district lines in Alabama’s 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th Congressional Districts, necessitating new elections — including the Aug. 11 special primary in Clarke County.

What to Bring to the Polls

Alabama requires voters to show a valid photo ID, such as a driver’s license, nondriver ID, passport or free Alabama voter ID card, before casting a ballot. Voters can confirm their registration status and polling place through the Alabama Secretary of State’s website, AlabamaVotes.gov.