Doug Jones told supporters over the weekend that Alabama rigs its elections against turnout.
“Alabama deliberately makes it difficult to vote,” the Democrat nominee wrote in a fundraising message on October 30. “We have no early voting and extraordinarily restrictive absentee voting rules. It’s up to us to make sure every supporter knows where to vote, has a way to get there, and casts their ballot on Tuesday. We cannot afford to miss a single vote.”
Jones, a former one-term U.S. Senator who lost his seat to Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) by 20 points in 2020, is facing Tuberville again on Tuesday’s ballot.
In the same message, Jones cited a poll from a Democrat-aligned firm showing him trailing 48% to 45% and said Tuberville “is outspending us almost three to one on TV.”
Secretary of State Wes Allen, Alabama’s chief elections official, issued a statement Tuesday morning as polls opened.
“I also want to thank all of Alabama’s local election officials for their hard work preparing for Election Day and ensuring that our elections are conducted in a fair, secure, and transparent way,” Allen said. “Thank your poll workers and everyone who is working behind the scenes to make sure Election Day runs in a secure and orderly fashion.”
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Allen has defended Alabama’s Election Day model for years. Asked in 2024 whether the state should adopt early voting, he said, “I believe in election day, not election month.”
Alabama is one of three states that does not offer early in-person voting.
Absentee ballots are available to voters who are out of their county on Election Day, ill or disabled, working a shift of 10 or more hours, serving as a poll worker or in the military, among other qualifying reasons.
More than 4,100 Montgomery County voters and more than 3,000 Baldwin County voters applied for absentee ballots this cycle, according to the counties’ circuit clerks.
Polls are open until 7 p.m. Anyone in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote. Voters who need their polling place can check myinfo.alabamavotes.gov.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
