Do Alabama Republicans have an enthusiasm problem headed into the November elections? The numbers suggest as much.
According to the Alabama Secretary of State's Office, 879,785 votes were cast in this year's primary election; 23.12% of the state's registered 3,805,005 voters turned out, compared to the last non-presidential primary cycle in 2022, when turnout was 851,684, or 23.4% of the 3,769,372 eligible voters.
Despite the fear-mongering on the left and mainstream media about voter suppression and the "challenges of voting identification laws," both overall voter registration and Democratic votes in Alabama have increased.
While the final numbers aren't available on the Secretary of State's election data page, as of Monday evening, the total number voting in the governor's race was used as a cross-reference to the available May 24, 2022, totals.
Statewide numbers show that Republicans still have a significant advantage over Democrats. However, some county-level data could be seen as a warning.
Democratic primary voters turned out at a much higher rate than Republican primary voters.
In this year's race for governor, 364,635 Democrats voted, compared to 188,578 in the 2022 primary.
For Republicans, the decrease was sharp from 660,789 votes in 2022 to just 493,376 for this year's election.
Neither ticket featured a particularly contested gubernatorial race this year, yet there were competitive primaries for the U.S. Senate and all constitutional offices.
Republicans saw a steep drop-off in numerous counties around the state as well, while Democratic turnout surged.
Once-Republican strongholds like Madison and Tuscaloosa Counties saw Democrats outpace Republican voters. Democrats also had healthy advantages in the state's most populous counties, including Jefferson, Mobile and Montgomery Counties.
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