Probate Judge James Naftel spent part of Tuesday afternoon driving around to precincts to check voter turnout and to determine whether there were any problems.

There was one glitch in the morning, when county election staff had to reconnect some precincts that were without Wi-Fi earlier Friday, Naftel said.

As of 2:30, an estimated 45,035 voters, or about 10% of Jefferson County’s registered voters, had voted, although Naftel said that number was tentative and changing throughout the day. Polls close across the county at 7 p.m.

About 3,400 absentee votes had come in as of noon Monday, the official cut-off time. That’s far fewer than two years ago, when the normal rules on who could vote by absentee were suspended during the pandemic.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill has forecast a statewide voter turnout of from 28% to 32%.

He based his projection on aggressive campaigns in the governor and Senate races as well as multiple candidates running in those and state legislative races.

He said record amounts of money have been spent in this election cycle.