Alabama state legislative Democratic primaries, 2018

Elections in Alabama, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 22
• Early voting: N/A
• Absentee voting deadline: Postmark Nov. 5

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

2018 Alabama State Legislature elections
General	November 6, 2018
Primary	June 5, 2018
Primary Runoff	July 15, 2018

2018 elections
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The Democratic primary elections for the seats in the Alabama State Senate and the Alabama House of Representatives were on June 5, 2018, and the Democratic primary runoff elections were on July 17, 2018. For information about the Republican primary elections in Alabama, click here.

The general election was on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was February 9, 2018. In the state Senate, all 35 seats were up for election. In the state House, all 105 seats were up for election.

HIGHLIGHTS

As of December 2017, Alabama was one of 26 Republican trifectas. A state government trifecta is a term used to describe a single-party government where one political party holds the governor's office and a majority in both chambers of the state legislature. To find out more about state government trifectas, click here.

Incumbents who did not advance to the general election

Retiring incumbents

One state Senate Democrat did not seek re-election.

• Henry Sanders (District 23)

Eight state House Democrats did not seek re-election and one passed away prior to the elections.

• Marcel Black (District 3)
• Johnny Mack Morrow (District 18)
• Craig Ford (District 28)
• Richard Lindsey (District 39)
• Patricia Todd (District 54)
• John Knight (District 77)
• George Bandy (District 83)
• James Buskey (District 99)

Incumbents defeated

One state House incumbent was defeated in the primaries.

• Alvin Holmes (District 78)

Competitiveness

See also: 2018 primary election competitiveness in state and federal government and Alabama state legislative Republican primaries, 2018

As of 2018, Alabama held elections every four years. Compared to the 2014 elections, there were 17 more open seats, 37 more candidates running, 10 more contested Democratic primaries, and two more contested Republican primaries. The total number of incumbents facing primaries decreased by four, but the percentage of incumbents facing primaries increased by 1.7 percent.

Year	Total seats	Open seats	Total candidates	Democratic primaries contested	Republican primaries contested	Total contested	Incumbents contested in primaries	Total incumbents contested in primaries
2018	140	37	320	29	47	27.1%	36	35.0%
2014	140	20	283	19	45	22.9%	40	33.3%

Partisan control

The tables below show the partisan breakdowns of the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama State Senate as of July 2018:

Alabama House of Representatives

Party		As of July 2018
	Democratic Party	32
	Republican Party	71
	Vacancies	1
Total		105

Alabama State Senate

Party		As of July 2018
	Democratic Party	8
	Republican Party	26
	Independent	1
	Vacancies	0
Total		35

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Alabama uses an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Poll times

In Alabama, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. According to state law, "All polling places in areas operating on eastern time shall open and close under this section pursuant to eastern time except the county commissions in Chambers County and Lee County may by resolution provide for any polling place to be excluded from this sentence and to be open according to central time." An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

Alabama requires that an applicant be a citizen of the United States who resides in Alabama. A voter must be at least 18 years old on or before Election Day. A citizen cannot have been barred from registering due to a felony conviction and cannot have been declared mentally incompetent by a court.

Voters cannot register during the 14-day period preceding an election. According to the Alabama Secretary of State's website:

“

You may download the State of Alabama Postcard Voter Registration Application from this site. The form can be printed on your printer, filled out, and then mailed into your local voter registration officials. Click here for more information. You may also request a postcard voter registration from this office by e-mail. Click here to request a voter registration form. Voter registration is also available from your local County Board of Registrars. Click here to get the address and phone number for the board of registrars office in your county. You may also obtain voter registration services at the following state and local government offices and agencies: Driver's licensing office County and select municipal public libraries Department of Human Resources WIC Program, Department of Public Health Medicaid Agency Department of Rehabilitation Services The postcard voter registration form is also available at: Public 4-year universities Select private 4-year universities Driver's licensing office County and select municipal public libraries Department of Human Resources WIC Program, Department of Public Health Medicaid Agency Department of Rehabilitation Services

”

Automatic registration

Alabama does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Alabama has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Alabama does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Alabama, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

An Alabama state law, passed in 2011, calls for people to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. However, as of August 2024, the law had not been implemented.

In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot require proof of citizenship with federal registration forms. That meant states would need to create a separate registration system for state elections in order to require proof of citizenship. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) said the following: "That’s an election administration nightmare ... You’d have to have two sets of poll books, one for federal elections and one for state elections, and that just doesn’t make any sense to me."

An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Alabama Secretary of State's Voter View website allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Absentee voting

A voter is eligible to vote absentee/mail-in in an election if he or she cannot make it to the polls on Election Day for one of the following reasons:

• The voter will be absent from the county on Election Day.
• The voter is ill or has a disability that prevents a trip to the polling place.
• The voter is a registered voter living outside the county, such as a member of the armed forces, a voter employed outside the United States, a college student, or a spouse or child of such a person.
• The voter is an appointed election officer or poll watcher at a polling place other than his or her regular polling place.
• The voter works a required shift of 10 hours or more that coincides with polling hours.
• The voter is a caregiver to a family member to the second degree of kinship who is confined to their home.
• The voter is incarcerated and has not been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude.

Absentee/mail-in ballot application must be received by the seventh day prior to the election if delivered by mail, and by the fifth day before an election if delivered by hand.

In the following circumstances, the deadline to apply for an absentee/mail-in ballot is 5 p.m. the day before the election:

• The voter is required by an employer under unforeseen circumstances to be out of the county on Election Day for an emergency business trip.
• The voter has a medical emergency requiring treatment from a licensed physician.
• The voter is a caregiver of a person who requires emergency treatment by a licensed physician within five days before an election.
• The voter has a family member to the second degree of kinship by affinity or consanguinity die within five days before an election.

Alabama also provides for medical emergency absentee/mail-in voting for a voter who has a medical emergency requiring treatment from a licensed physician within 5 days of an election. A voted medical emergency absentee/mail-in ballot must be returned no later than noon on election day.

See also

• Alabama state legislative Republican primaries, 2018
• Alabama House of Representatives elections, 2018
• Alabama State Senate elections, 2018
• Alabama State Legislature
• Alabama elections, 2018