Democratic voting turnout surges, Republican turnout falls during May 19 primary

The May 19 primary in the state saw a decrease in Republican turnout from four years ago and an increase in Democratic voting, though a majority of voters chose to vote in the GOP primary.  

According to the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, just over 493,000 (57%) Republican ballots were cast in last week’s primary. That was a decrease from the 2022 midterm election where Republican voters made up 660,800 (78%) of the ballots cast.

“We are grateful to everyone who showed up at the polls, and we encourage voters to keep that same momentum going as we head into the June 16 primary runoff elections and the August 11 special primary election. Every election matters, and we need voters to turn out just as strongly in the weeks ahead,” said Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, the chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, in a statement last week.

Some counties saw significant drops in GOP voting. The number of Republican ballots cast in Limestone County fell from nearly 19,400 in 2022 to just over 11,000 on May 19. 

Colbert County also saw a dip in Republican voter turnout. This year, just over 4,900 Republican voters cast a ballot, down from 2022 when nearly 9,100 Republican ballots were cast.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Limestone County and Colbert County Republican Party.

Other areas like Baldwin County saw an increase in overall ballots cast between last Tuesday’s election and 2022, but the increase came from more Democratic candidates showing up to the polls.

Last week, about 6,615 people voted in the Democratic primary in Baldwin County, a Republican bastion, up from 2022 when the county had 2,117 Democratic ballots cast. On the Republican side, 32,646 ballots were cast in the Republican primary, a decrease from 2022 when 35,778 votes were cast.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Baldwin County Democratic and Republican parties Wednesday.

Democratic gains

Democrats made gains in other counties as well. Madison County, where the party is hoping to make legislative gains in November, saw a major increase in Democratic primary voting, going from 11,900 ballots in 2022 to 35,100 last Tuesday. 

Mobile and Tuscaloosa Counties also saw significant increases in Democratic ballots.

In Mobile County, Democratic ballots went from nearly 13,000 in 2022 to 33,800 this year. Tuscaloosa County went from just over 5,300 in 2022 to 15,400 during Tuesday’s election.

Democrats in 2022 had a number of statewide candidates who were unknown or first-time voters. The Democratic primary this year featured former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who won the party’s nomination for governor.

Democratic county chairs also attributed the increase to greater enthusiasm among young voters and the ongoing fights over congressional district lines in the state, which brought hundreds of protestors to the state Legislature during a special session earlier this month and thousands to voting rights rallies in Selma and Montgomery on May 16. 

“The Supreme Court’s decision in the Louisiana case, and the decisions in the Alabama case made it all the more important that people go out to vote, exercise their right to vote, and we certainly encouraged at every opportunity at events all over Mobile County to get out and exercise their right to vote, and we were very gratified to see that so many people did that,” said Ben Harris, chair of the Mobile County Democratic Party in an interview Wednesday.  

Jonathan Buchwalter, chair of the Tuscaloosa Democratic Party, said his organization has a heavy focus on voter registration and works with the West Alabama Young Democrats and the University of Alabama Democrats to engage young voters.

“People who are 19 (or) 20 years old, they’re really showing interest in politics for the first time. It’s just, ‘What do I do? How do I sign up for something? How do I get to be a part of it?’ And so the West Alabama Young Dems, the UA Dems, do a really good job of answering that question,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.

More voters took Democratic ballots in Mobile and Tuscaloosa counties than Republican ones. Buchwalter said the reason for more Democratic voters showing up to the polls is because of national issues such as rising gas and prices and the war in Iran.

“If I was a Republican voter, I wouldn’t be very motivated to vote for Republicans. I wouldn’t see anything that they’re up to that affects the groceries I’m putting in my cart or the gas I’m putting in my tank,” he said. “For Democrats, what the party has been focusing on over and over nationally, is how do we make the cost of living more manageable for the average person? How do we make sure more Americans get to keep and use more of their paycheck, and how do we hold people accountable when they’re using elected offices for corruption.”