A brief computer outage at state Department of Public Safety offices presented issues for some who wanted to update their drivers licenses ahead of the voter registration deadline on Monday.
Voting is in full swing even though the polls won’t open until Tuesday morning.
Between interest in the races on the ballot and fear of coronavirus, more than 316,000 people applied to vote by absentee ballots and 259,201 absentee ballots had been successfully returned as of Thursday, according to Grace Newcombe, press secretary for the Secretary of State’s Office.
That crushed the previous record for absentee votes, which was 88,000 cast in the 2012 general election.
At the top of the ticket is the Donald Trump-Joe Biden showdown for the White House. That race has drawn the most interest nationwide. But there’s another race that has drawn much attention in Alabama, as former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, tries to unseat Doug Jones, who three years ago was the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama in 25 years.
Also up for grabs are races for the Alabama Public Service Commission presidency and a seat on the state Board of Education. In Jefferson County, contested races also include a district court judgeship, deputy treasurer, tax assessor, assistant tax assessor and assistant tax collector.
Voters also have six amendments to decide – seven in Shelby County.
The 2020 BirminghamWatch Voter Guide gives you information to navigate through the voting process. You’ll find profiles of the candidates, including biographical information, the main issues they’re citing in their campaigns, their top contributors and links to their web or social media sites. Also in the guide is a rundown of the amendments with an analysis of each by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, sample ballots you can print, mark as you want and take to the polling place as a reminder, if you want; and information about voting and going to the polls.
Printable Sample Ballots for Jefferson and Shelby Counties
List of Candidates with Profiles
Your Guide to Alabama’s 2020 Constitutional Amendments
Check your registration status, find your polling place and check the status of your absentee ballot
Jones Runs Aggressive Campaign to Maintain Senate Seat for the Democrats
With a Commanding Lead in Polls, Tuberville Shuns Media and Jones While Embracing Trump
Poll Watchers Have Strict Rules to Follow, and So Do Others at the Polls
Lawmakers had a change of heart after decades of debate on the issue.
UAB announced this week it's closing the majority of its public COVID-19 vaccination sites because of a decline in participation. Meanwhile, Alabama remains at the bottom nationally for the number of adults that have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
A group of young civil rights activists began their journey to the South to challenge segregation on interstate buses in May 1961. The riders were taunted and beaten by white mobs – and jailed. Participants of the movement share what their fight means now.
Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama have the lowest vaccination rates nationally, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Health officials are considering creative incentives to get the numbers up from church events to possible beer giveaways.
Health officials say at first they were focused on vaccinating elderly and at-risk people in Alabama. Now the focus is shifting to people who are skeptical or apathetic about the vaccine.
Plans for a passenger line connecting New Orleans with Mobile are underway, but opposition from the freight train industry could derail the service – and possibly President Joe Biden’s vision for an Amtrak resurgence.
