Voting in the Alabama midterm elections comes down to a short list of deadlines and rules: register at least 15 days before Election Day, bring an acceptable photo ID to your assigned precinct between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and plan ahead if you need to vote absentee, because Alabama requires a qualifying excuse and a notary or two witnesses on the ballot envelope. Everything else — primaries, runoffs, rights restoration, how the count becomes official — flows from those basics.
What’s on the Ballot
A midterm in Alabama fills nearly every elected office outside the presidency. On the federal side, that’s one U.S. Senate seat (the state’s two seats are staggered on six-year terms, so only one appears any given midterm) and all seven U.S. House seats, which turn over every two years.1United States Senate. About the Senate and the U.S. Constitution – Term Length
Statewide, voters pick the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, and Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. The entire legislature is up too: all 35 State Senate seats and all 105 State House seats, each on four-year terms aligned with the midterm cycle.2Alabama Legislature. Senate3Alabama Legislature. House of Representatives These are the people who write the state budget and decide which constitutional amendments go on future ballots.
Register at Least 15 Days Before Election Day
You can register if you’re a U.S. citizen, an Alabama resident, and at least 18 by Election Day. Two disqualifiers apply: a court finding of mental incompetence, or a felony conviction involving moral turpitude (more on that below).
You can register three ways: online through the Secretary of State’s portal, by mail, or in person at your county Board of Registrars. The Department of Motor Vehicles and certain other state agencies also take registrations.
The cutoff is the same across all three methods: 15 days before Election Day. Mailed applications must be postmarked by that date; online submissions must go through by 11:59 p.m. Alabama has no same-day registration. Miss the deadline and you cannot vote in that election.
Photo ID at the Polls
Alabama requires photo ID to vote in person, and the accepted list is wider than most voters assume. It includes a valid Alabama driver’s license, a U.S. passport, any state-issued ID from Alabama or another state, a federal government ID, a military ID, a tribal ID, a student or employee ID from an Alabama college or university, an employee ID from any level of Alabama government, and a valid pistol permit with a photo.4Alabama Secretary of State. Photo Voter ID An Alabama driver’s license that expired less than 60 days ago still works.
If none of those fits, you can get a free Alabama Photo Voter ID card at the Secretary of State’s office in Montgomery, at your county Board of Registrars, or from a mobile ID unit that travels around the state.5Alabama Secretary of State. Mobile ID Locations Handle this before Election Day.
Showing up without ID doesn’t automatically cost you your vote. Under Alabama Code Section 17-10-1, you can cast a provisional ballot that election officials set aside and count later once your identity is verified. That process adds steps and no guarantee, so bring the ID.
Election Day Logistics
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. local time. Chambers, Lee, and Russell counties sit in the Eastern time zone, so their polls close at 8 p.m. ET, which is the same moment as the rest of the state. If you’re in line when polls close, stay there. You have the right to vote.
You must vote at your assigned precinct. Look it up through the Secretary of State’s online Voter Registration Database before you go, because a ballot cast at the wrong location won’t count.
Time Off Work to Vote
Alabama employers must give you up to one hour off to vote if you give reasonable advance notice.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 17-1-5 – Employers to Allow Time Off for Voting The exception: your shift already starts at least two hours after polls open or ends at least one hour before they close. The leave is unpaid.
Absentee Voting
Alabama does not allow no-excuse absentee voting. You must qualify under a specific reason: being out of the county on Election Day, physical illness or disability, working a shift of 10 or more hours that overlaps with poll hours, attending school outside the county, military service, or caring for a homebound family member.
Request an absentee ballot by sending an application to your county’s Absentee Election Manager with a copy of an acceptable photo ID.7Governing. Absentee Ballot Application Now Requires Photo ID in Alabama A mailed application must arrive at least seven days before the election. A hand-delivered one must arrive at least five days before.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 17-11-3 – Voting in Precinct
Here’s where first-time absentee voters get caught. After you mark your ballot and seal it in the provided envelopes, you must have it authenticated by either a notary public or two witnesses who are at least 18. A ballot returned without this authentication is not counted. If you mail the completed ballot back, it must arrive by noon on Election Day. If you hand-deliver it, the deadline is 5 p.m. the day before.
Military and Overseas Voters
If you’re active-duty military, a military spouse or dependent, or a U.S. citizen living abroad, the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act applies. Alabama must send you an absentee ballot at least 45 days before any federal election.9FVAP.gov. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act Overview You register and request ballots using the Federal Post Card Application. If your official ballot doesn’t arrive in time, you can use a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot as a backup.
Primaries and Runoffs Come First
The November general election is not the only midterm vote. Each party holds a primary earlier in the year to pick its nominees, and Alabama uses a majority rule: a candidate needs more than 50 percent to win outright. If no one does, the top two advance to a runoff on the fourth Tuesday after the primary.10Alabama Legislature. Chapter 2 Alabama Elections Generally Crowded fields trigger runoffs often, and runoff turnout is usually a fraction of primary turnout, which hands the decision to a smaller slice of voters.
Alabama has no party registration. Any qualified voter can request either party’s ballot at the primary, but only one party’s ballot per cycle. The 15-day registration deadline applies the same way it does for the general.
Felony Convictions and Voting Rights
Alabama’s constitution bars voting after a felony involving moral turpitude. The legislature narrowed that in 2017 with the Felony Voter Disqualification Act, which lists the specific disqualifying offenses in Alabama Code Section 17-3-30.1.11Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 17-3-30.1 – Disqualification of Electors for Felonies Involving Moral Turpitude If your conviction isn’t on that list, you never lost your right to vote.
If it is, you can apply to the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote, called a CERV. The board should respond in about 44 days. You generally need to have completed your sentence, including probation or parole, and paid any court-ordered restitution. A full pardon from the same board also restores civil and political rights.
When Results Become Official
What you see on Election Night is unofficial. County officials — the sheriff, circuit clerk, and judge of probate — meet at the courthouse at noon on the second Friday after the election to canvass local returns.12Alabama Legislature. Chapter 9 Post-Election Activities
Those results then go to the State Canvassing Board, made up of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General or their designees, which must certify state and federal results within 22 days of the election.13Alabama Secretary of State. Alabama State Canvassing Board Minutes November 18, 2025 The certified totals, published by the Secretary of State, are the legally binding outcome.