Jones, Figures call on young voters in final Democratic rally before midterm elections

Amid chants encouraging voter turnout and sets of rap and R&B music, Alabama Democrats on Monday called on young voters at Alabama State University to turn out in Tuesday’s midterm elections in the final campaign rally for two campaigns.

Speaking to more than 3,000 attendees, most of whom were ASU students, U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Montgomery, said candidates should stop talking about young voters and start talking to them. 

“I say we can’t just keep blaming y’all for not voting. We gotta give you a reason to go vote,” said Figures, seeking re-election in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which was altered the most of the state’s four affected districts by a U.S. Supreme Court order this spring. “I say we gotta give you a reason to believe in people and believe that government can actually work the way it’s supposed to work for you.”

Following a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court this spring in a case known as Louisiana v. Callais, the Alabama Legislature reverted to a 2023 congressional map, which was previously struck down as racially discriminatory, for the 2026 election. The map change triggered a special primary election in August after a special session of the Legislature. 

The new map reduced the Black voting age population by nearly 9 percentage points. The district was expected to be a relatively easy pick-up for Republican nominee Rhett Marques, a state representative from Enterprise. But Figures has outraised Marques during the campaign, and the nonpartisan Center for Politics Monday moved the race from “Toss up” to “Leans Democratic” in its final ratings. 

Turnout in Montgomery County, which generally leans Democratic, will be critical for Figures and the Democratic Party’s statewide campaigns. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, who is running for reelection in an altered 7th Congressional District, told attendees that Black voter participation is crucial in Tuesday’s election. 

“I want you all to know that we cannot do this without you, and they’re counting on you not voting. They want you to not vote,” she said. “When I was your age, they didn’t want me to vote, but we voted. We voted like our lives depend upon it because it does.”

Sewell introduced Democratic gubernatorial nominee Doug Jones, who walked on stage to “Teach Me How To Dougie.” Voters across the state have tried to get Jones to do the dance associated with the song, but he has mostly refused. He did not on Monday night. 

“Just for you, I embarrassed the hell out of myself,” he said. “As you have heard from this stage, tomorrow we have a historic opportunity to change the direction of this state.”

Jones faces Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville in the governor’s race. Tuberville is largely considered the front runner, but recent polls have shown a smaller gap than in 2020, when Tuberville defeated Jones in the 2020 U.S. Senate campaign. 

Alabama House Minority Leader Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, focused on reaching the approximately 619,000 Black registered voters in Alabama that he said do not cast ballots in every election. According to the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, almost 872,000 Black Alabamians are registered to vote as of September. 

“We’re counting on you to turn out in record numbers to save our representation,” he said. “They attempted to take away our representation in Congress, and now it’s time for us to fight back.”

Polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Polling locations can be found here.