According to the Secretary of State’s website, there are 3,868,043 registered voters in Alabama. Two weeks out from the 2024 election – the most consequential and controversial election of my lifetime – the voting totals are still unofficial. But the most recent update on Nov. 7 shows that only 2,264,780 of the registered voters cast a ballot. That is a statewide turnout of 58.55%.
Where were the other 41.45% of voters and why did they not bother to vote?
This election was not just about the national political landscape; there were local measures on the ballot whose outcomes may have shifted had that 40% of voters showed up in their communities.
In Marshall County, for example, voters were asked if they wanted to allow alcohol sales in the unincorporated county. Before Nov. 5, the laws required that sales could only be enacted in incorporated cities like Guntersville. The focus was not about lack of access to alcohol, but producing more tax revenue for the county. The measure passed overwhelmingly, probably because it received quite a bit of press. But other local measures did not.
In my home county (Colbert), Amendment 1 was on the ballot, which the Alabama Fair Ballot Commission described as follows:
This amendment will transfer ownership rights of those lands to the Franklin County Board of Education. Upon approval, the amendment will provide that any money earned from the lease or sale of the lands or its natural resources will be paid to the Franklin County Board of Education.
Money currently held in trust by the State of Alabama prior to the approval of this amendment will continue to be held in trust and any money earned from those transactions will continue to be paid to the Franklin County Board of Education.
Ballotpedia broke it down further:
While the explanation was short and well-written, there was no detail on how this affected me – a child-free person who is relatively new to the state – or the county in which I live. Furthermore, Franklin County is next door to Colbert. Why was I voting on their school system when I personally live in Colbert? Aside from Ballotpedia, not many residents could answer these questions, so as a recovering Californian who is inured to corruption being embedded in ANY educational initiative, I voted “NO.”
It passed overwhelmingly, but for me, why this was good or bad remains in question.
Where was the education on local ballot initiatives? How many residents even understood the local measures on their ballots?
But voting day held more than ballot measure confusion. According to a local X post, residents of St. Clair County had trouble even casting their votes:
Despite this, the 68.69% of the registered voters in that county turned out to vote yes on Local Amendment 1.
Unlike Colbert County’s Amendment 1, this education related measure was explained to the locals, and was featured by the local ABC affiliate several weeks before the election.
All this brings me to two conclusions:
1) Voter education and engagement is sorely lacking across the state, from all political and invested parties. It could use an overhaul.
2) Voter engagement was poor by any measure. How do you have lower numbers in 2024 than you did during the pandemic craziness of 2020?
While Alabama does not provide early voting opportunities like other states, voting absentee ballot is always an option; but few voters seem to know about it, or perhaps care to investigate. Because my husband and I often travel out of the county, we voted absentee to ensure our vote was counted. What prevented that 40% of voters from also engaging in this process?
The fact that these voters chose to sit out a national election is abysmal and reflects complacency, discouragement, ignorance, or a combination of all three. As a black woman, I recognize that many fought and died for my right to vote, so, I fail to understand how anyone treats voting so cavalierly by opting out of having their voice counted.
As Alabama’s Secretary of State works to ensure we continue to have free and fair elections, every county registrar should give attention to finding ways to inform their citizens (it starts in the schools) then engaging Alabama voters about why their vote matters. There are many consequential local elections on the docket for 2025, particularly for mayor and city council, where showing up will matter greatly to the well-being and thriving of our citizens.
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
