Baldwin County election school is underway as election officials prepare for the May 19 primary.
Voter turnout predictions are based on previous elections. The last midterm election in Baldwin County saw a 28% turnout, while the general election saw a 60% turnout. Judge of Probate Harry D’Olive said with a full slate of important races, it’s difficult to predict what voters will do in 2026.
“In this midterm, we're electing the governor on down in the state offices. We're electing all of our county commissioners, we're electing all of our state legislative people and our congressional representatives, the sheriff and a couple of school board members,” D’Olive said. “I think those are just as important, if not more important than the presidential election, but who knows what motivates a voter.”
D’Olive said approximately 700 workers are needed for the county’s 63 precincts. Classes educate poll workers on what happens on election day. D’Olive said community members have been willing to participate, and the goal is to appoint previous poll workers and new people, some of whom will be on standby in case of sick calls on election day.
After training concludes, poll workers will be appointed on April 29.
Election officials are also charging voting machines. The machines have battery backup in case of power loss. They are being stocked with all new rolls of paper and will be tested before election day.
“We have a stack of sample ballots that is fed to every machine in every way you can imagine, front, back, upside down, right side up, to make sure that the machines read the ballots like they're supposed to,” D’Olive explained. “And then the last thing we do, once all of the testing is done, then we zero the machine back out, and it prints a tape that shows us everything is zero. We seal it, and it stays sealed until the poll workers open it the morning of the election.”
Candidates and their supporters are reminded that there is to be no campaigning within 30 feet of the front door of a polling place.
As for voters, they may bring a sample ballot or have one available on their phone. Phones are allowed inside polling places, and voters may take selfies with their ballots, but they may not include other people or their ballots.
Voters must declare their party affiliation for the primary. A photo ID is required to vote.
Provisional ballots will be accepted for voters experiencing issues. Provisional ballots are verified and counted on the Tuesday following the election.
“The main thing I would like the people to think about and do is find out for sure that their voter registration is up to date,” said D’Olive. “If they have recently moved or their address has changed for some reason or something like that, they need to go online to the Secretary of State's website and look up and see how they’re listed on the voter registration.”
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