Unofficial results as of 8:45 a.m. Most counties reported 100% of the votes had been counted. In Jefferson County, 98.29% of the boxes had been counted. President: Joseph R. Biden (D): 36.26% Donald J. Trump (R): 62.34% Jorgensen (I): 1.10% U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D): 39.43% Tommy Tuberville (R): 60.40% Public Service
Five of the six statewide amendments on Alabama’s ballot passed Tuesday, with another one that proposed several changes to ethics oversight in the state judiciary being too close to call early Wednesday morning. Most of the measures, including one to “recompile” the constitution to remove racist language and two others establishing county-specific “stand your ground” laws for churches, passed easily. Read more.
Donald J. Trump was in a close reelection fight Tuesday night, but it was not close in the Heart of Dixie. Trump won Alabama overwhelmingly over Democrat Joe Biden, just as he did in 2016 when he defeated Hillary Clinton. And keeping with their strong preference for Republican candidates, Alabama voters chose former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, a political newcomer whose campaign was largely based on his loyalty to Trump, to replace Democratic incumbent Doug Jones in the U.S. Senate. Unofficial returns from all 67 counties this morning showed Trump leading Biden by about 62% to 36% in Alabama. Almost as soon as polling places around the state closed, The Associated Press declared Trump the winner, and thus he will win the state’s nine electoral votes, just as he did in 2016 when he won 63% of the votes against Democratic nominee Clinton. Tuberville, meanwhile, was leading Jones by a margin of about 60% to 39%, though Jones was ahead by 58% to 41% in the state’s most populous county of Jefferson and by an even bigger margin in Montgomery County. Read more.
Tommy Tuberville defeated incumbent Sen. Doug Jones in Tuesday’s election, reclaiming Alabama’s junior Senate seat for Republicans after the party’s surprise loss in a special election three years ago. With 65 of 67 counties reporting at midnight, Tuberville had 62% of the vote to Jones’ 38%. Tuberville, a former head football coach for Auburn University, had easily defeated the seat’s previous occupant, Jeff Sessions, in July’s Republican runoff. From there, he shifted to a minimalist campaign approach, eschewing debates and mostly avoiding public and media appearances, counting on his name recognition and Alabama’s deep-rooted conservative politics to push him to victory. Even in the primary, his campaign was painted in broad strokes. Tuberville portrayed himself as a loyalist to President Donald Trump, echoing his promises to “drain the swamp” – i.e., remove corruption from Washington — and to “build the wall” along America’s border with Mexico. When he appeared onstage Tuesday night to give his acceptance speech, he promised supporters that his first term as senator would “be guided by our shared values, conservative values, and I will vote for the majority people of the state of Alabama and not for a party like Doug Jones did.” Read more.
While some people are concerned solely with who wins on Election Day, Deb and Charlie O’Hara were worried about people they didn’t know in neighboring Jefferson County at Legion Field. The residents of unincorporated North Shelby County cast their ballots about two days ago, but they couldn’t sit idle as they saw others performing their civic duty in a television report this morning. The thought of them enduring the hot sun or freezing cold – “We weren’t sure which one it was going to be,” – spurred the couple to action. “We saw the line this morning here. They showed it on the news, a big, long line,” Deb O’Hara said. “We just went over to Costco and bought a bunch of snacks and stuff and bottled water. We just thought we’d give it out. We just wanted to do something nice for people.”
BirminghamWatch has partnered with ProPublica to offer Alabama voters the opportunity to notify us if problems arise at the polls. Read more.
BirminghamWatch has partnered with ProPublica to offer Alabama voters the opportunity to notify us if problems arise at the polls. Read more.
Long lines were reported at many polling places in the Birmingham area today, but no major problems were reported despite projects of a record voter turnout for the hotly contested presidential and U.S. Senate races. State and local officials said they expect to finish the vote count in Alabama by Wednesday morning. Barry Stephenson, chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Registrars, said there had been no instances of serious problems. Voter turnout is predicted to hit 68% to 75%, corresponding to 2.5 million to 2.8 million people voting, according to Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill. The state already has seen a record number of absentee ballots returned — 300,402, as of Monday morning. Read more.
Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — Voting 52 for and 48 against, the Senate on Oct. 26 confirmed Amy Coney Barrett, 48, as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, replacing the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett had been a federal appeals judge since 2018 and University of Notre Dame law professor starting in 2002. Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, R, voted to confirm Barrett; Sen. Doug Jones, D, voted against the confirmation. Read more.
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