2020 Alabama elections

Alabama state elections in 2020 was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Its primary elections were held on March 3, 2020, with runoffs taking place on July 31.[1]

2020 Alabama elections

In addition to the U.S. presidential race, Alabama voters will elect the Class II U.S. Senator from Alabama, 4 of 9 members of the Alabama State Board of Education, all of its seats to the House of Representatives, 2 of 9 seats on the Supreme Court of Alabama, 4 of 10 seats on the Alabama Appellate Court and one seat of the Alabama House of Representatives. It will also vote on five ballot measures.

To vote by mail, registered Alabama voters must request a ballot by October 29, 2020.[2] As of early October some 130,576 voters have requested mail ballots.[3]

Federal offices

President of the United States

Alabama has 9 electoral votes in the Electoral College. Donald Trump won all of them with 62% of the popular vote.

United States Class II Senate Seat

Republican Tommy Tuberville defeated incumbent Democrat Doug Jones, winning 60% of the vote.

United States House of Representatives

There are 5 U.S. Representatives in Alabama that were up for election in addition to 2 open seats.[4] 6 seats were won by the Republicans while 1 seat was won by the Democrats. No congressional districts changed hands.

State Board of Education

4 of 9 seats of the Alabama State Board of Education are up for election (one is a non-elected position held by the Governor).[5] Before the election the composition of that board was:

Party # of seats Republican 7 Democratic 1 Independent 1 Total 9

State Judiciary

The state Supreme Court has 9 seats, all of which are currently occupied by Republican incumbents. At the appellate level, 2 of 5 seats on Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and 2 of 5 on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals are up for election. All seats on both courts are currently held by the Republican Party.[6]

Democratic Primary

No candidates filed for election to this seat.[7]

Nominee

• Greg Shaw, incumbent[7]

Eliminated in primary

• Cam Ward, state senator[7]

Alabama Supreme Court Place 1 Republican

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Greg Shaw	Cam Ward	Undecided
Mason-Dixon	February 4–6, 2020	400 (LV)	± 5.0%	24%	19%	57%

State House of Representatives

A special election had been called for November 17, 2020 for District 49 as a result of Republican incumbent April Weaver resigning from the legislature. Primaries were held on August 4 that year, with a Republican runoff set for September 1.[8]

2020 Alabama's 49th House of Representatives district special election[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Russell Bedsole	1,599	63.18
	Democratic	Cheryl Patton	930	36.74
	Write-in		2	0.08
Total votes			2,531	100.0
	Republican hold

Ballot Measures

Amendment 1 (March)

In addition to the five amendments that are being voted on in November, Amendment 1 - called the Appointed Education Board Amendment - was defeated in the state's primary. It would have replaced the elected State Board of Education with a Commission on Elementary and Secondary Education whose members would have been appointed by the Governor with the approval of the state senate.[10]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	For Amendment 1	Against Amendment 1	Undecided
Mason-Dixon/Alabama Daily News/WBRC/WAFF	February 4–6, 2020	625 (RV)	± 4%	38%	41%	21%

Results

Amendment 1 (March)[11]

Choice	Votes	%
No	837,234	75.1
Yes	277,320	24.9
Total votes	1,114,554	100.00

Amendment 1 (November)

Amendment 1 (November)[12]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,535,862	77.01
No	458,487	22.99
Total votes	1,994,349	100.00

Amendment 2

Amendment 2[12]

Choice	Votes	%
No	919,380	51.06
Yes	881,145	48.94
Total votes	1,800,525	100.00

Amendment 3

Amendment 3[12]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,193,532	64.84
No	647,305	35.16
Total votes	1,840,837	100.00

Amendment 4

Amendment 4[12]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,222,682	66.82
No	607,090	33.18
Total votes	1,829,772	100.00

Amendment 5

Amendment 5[12]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,213,544	71.61
No	481,088	28.39
Total votes	1,694,632	100.00

Amendment 6

Amendment 6[12]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,216,008	71.61
No	482,189	28.39
Total votes	1,698,197	100.00

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

Partisan clients

References

1. "Alabama elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
2. Lily Hay Newman (August 27, 2020), "How to Vote by Mail and Make Sure It Counts", Wired.com, archived from the original on October 6, 2020
3. Michael P. McDonald, "2020 General Election Early Vote Statistics", U.S. Elections Project, retrieved October 10, 2020, Detailed state statistics
4. "Live: Alabama State Primary Election Results 2020". New York Times. August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
5. "State Board of Education". Alabama State Department of Education. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
6. "Alabama intermediate appellate court elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
7. Fiscus, Kirsten (March 3, 2020). "Alabama Supreme Court judge bests state senator for seat on state's highest court". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
8. Love, Joyanna (August 4, 2020). "House District 49 Republican primary ends without majority winner". The Clanton Advertiser. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
9. "CertificationResults-HD49 Special General Election" (PDF). Alabama Secretary of State. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
10. "Alabama Amendment 1, Appointed Education Board Amendment (March 2020)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
11. "Canvass of Results for the Primary Election held on March 3, 2020" (PDF). Alabama Secretary of State. March 19, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
12. "Canvass of Results for the General Election held on November 3, 2020" (PDF). Alabama Secretary of State. November 23, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.

External links

• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Alabama", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Alabama: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Alabama". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• Alabama at Ballotpedia
• "Voting in Alabama", Voting Information by State, Rock the Vote. ("Deadlines, dates, requirements, registration options and information on how to vote in your state")
• "State Elections Legislation Database", Ncsl.org, Washington, D.C.: National Conference of State Legislatures, State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020