What voter ID rule does Alabama use?

Alabama is listed as Strict photo ID. Review the accepted ID forms and voter-without-ID procedures before voting.

What time do polls open in Alabama?

Polling places in Alabama are generally open 7:00 AM-7:00 PM. Confirm your assigned polling place before Election Day.

Alabama Voting Guide

Q: Where can I check my Alabama voter registration or polling place?

The Alabama voter lookup section lists tools for check your voter registration status, check your polling place location, view your sample ballot, and check your absentee application and ballot status.

Register

Alabama voter registration options

Alabama voters may register online, by mail, or in person. Registration deadlines may vary by election type or method where noted.

Online Available

Alabama enables residents to register through their online voter registration portal. You may use the online application to submit an application for voter registration or to submit an update to your registration information. For any election, the last day to register to vote or update your voter registration is the 15th day prior to the election

Online registration must be completed 15 days before Election Day.

Click here to Register Online

By Mail Available

You may download the State of Alabama Mail-In Voter Registration Form - then, just print it, fill it out, and mail it in to your local board of registrars. Any individual registering to vote must send the completed application with his/her original signature to the county's Board of Registrars in which he/she resides.

Mail registration must meet the state deadline 15 days before Election Day.

Click here to download the Mail-In Voter Registration Form

In Person Available

You can hand-deliver your completed voter registration application to your county Board of Registrars office. Voter registration and updating of voter records is closed during the 15 days prior to each election in Alabama.

In-person registration must be completed 15 days before Election Day.

Click here to get the address and phone number for the board of registrars office in your county

military overseas Available

Military and overseas voters may have additional registration options.

Federal Post Card Application

national_form

The National Mail Voter Registration Form may also be available where accepted.

Identification

Alabama voter ID laws

Alabama voter ID rule: Strict photo ID.

Strict photo ID

Alabama voter ID rule: Strict photo ID.

Code: Ala. Code § 17-9-30 and Ala. Code § 17-10-2

Accepted forms of ID

Valid Alabama driver's license
Valid Alabama non-driver ID card
Valid photo voter ID card
Valid photo ID issued by any state government
Valid photo ID issued by the federal government
Valid U.S. passport
Valid government employee ID card with photo
Valid student ID card issued by an Alabama college or university with photo
Valid employee ID card issued by an Alabama college or university with photo
Valid U.S. military ID card containing a photo

If you do not have ID

A voter without acceptable photo ID may vote a provisional ballot.
The voter has until 5:00 p.m. on the Friday after the election to present acceptable identification.
A voter may vote a regular ballot if identified as an eligible voter by two election officials who sign a sworn affidavit.

Polling Places

Alabama poll hours

Polling places in Alabama are generally open 7:00 AM-7:00 PM.

7:00 AM-7:00 PM

Alabama polling places are open from 7 AM to 7 PM. Please note that polling places located in the Eastern Time Zone may be open from 7 AM to 7 PM Eastern Time.

Absentee Voting

Alabama absentee and mail voting

For statewide elections, absentee ballot applications and completed absentee ballots should be hand delivered or mailed to the Absentee Election Manager for your county no later than the 5th day prior to the election.

Must have an excuse to vote absentee ballot

For statewide elections, absentee ballot applications and completed absentee ballots should be hand delivered or mailed to the Absentee Election Manager for your county no later than the 5th day prior to the election.

WITNESSES OR NOTARIZATION

An absentee ballot cannot be counted unless the affidavit is notarized or has the signatures of two witnesses.

Absentee Voting Eligibility

WILL BE ABSENT FROM THE COUNTY on election day
IS ILL OR HAS A PHYSICAL DISABILITY that prevents a trip to the polling place
IS A REGISTERED ALABAMA VOTER LIVING OUTSIDE THE COUNTY, such as a member of the armed forces, a voter employed outside the United States, a college student, or a spouse or child of such a person
IS AN APPOINTED ELECTION OFFICER OR POLL WATCHER at a polling place other than his or her regular polling place
WORKS A REQUIRED SHIFT, 10-HOURS OR MORE, that coincides with polling hours

Absentee Voting Eligibility

BUSINESS/MEDICAL EMERGENCY VOTING

applications can be made after the absentee deadline but no later than 5 PM on the day before the election, if the voter

is required by an employer under unforeseen circumstances to be out of the county on election day for an emergency business trip, or
has a medical emergency requiring treatment from a licensed physician

By-Mail Ballot Delivery

How to request an absentee ballot

To obtain an absentee ballot, write or visit the local Absentee Election Manager (usually the Circuit Clerk), request an absentee ballot, and provide the following:

name and residential address (or other such information in order to verify voter registration)
election for which the ballot is requested
reason for absence from polls on election day
party choice, if the election is a party primary. (It is not necessary to give a party choice for a general election; however, in a party primary a voter may participate in only one political party's primary; thus a choice must be...
address to which the ballot should be mailed
voter signature (If a mark is made in place of a signature, it must be witnessed)

Absentee Ballot Request

Absentee Ballot Return Deadline

An absentee ballot returned by mail must be postmarked no later than the day prior to the election and received by the Absentee Election Manager no later than noon on election day. If hand-delivered, the ballot must be in the office of the Absentee Election Manager by the close of business (but no later than 5 p.m.) on the day prior to the election.

Absentee Ballot Return

The voter has only the following legal ways to return the absentee ballot:

forwards the absentee ballot by U.S. Mail, or
personally hands the absentee ballot to the absentee election manager (or delivers by a designee in the case of emergency absentee voting)

Absentee voting source

Ways to Vote

Alabama voting options

Voting options available in Alabama.

Voting In Person at the Polls

Beginning with the June 3, 2014 primary election, Act 2011-673 requires an Alabama voter to have a specific type of photo identification at the polls in order to vote. If a voter does not have one of the approved forms of photo ID as stated in the law, then he or she may receive a free Alabama photo voter ID from various locations including the Secretary of State's Office, local county board of registrars' offices...

Click here to Locate Your Polling Place

Voting By Absentee Ballot

Absentee ballot applications delivered by mail must be received in the office of the Absentee Election Manager for your county no later than 7 days prior to the election. Applications returned by hand must be received in the office of the Absentee Election Manager for your county no later than 5 days prior to the election. An absentee ballot returned by mail must be postmarked no later than the day prior to the...

Click here to download the absentee ballot request Form

Eligibility

Alabama voter eligibility

Under federal law, if you move within 30 days of a presidential election, you are allowed to vote for President and Vice President in your former state of residence, either in person or by absentee ballot. Voter registration is governed in Alabama by state law and the federal National Voter Registration Act (commonly...

Age requirements

Voting age: You must be at least 18 years of age on or before election day

Registration age: You must be at least 18 on or before Election Day to register.

To register to vote in the State of Alabama, an individual must meet the following qualifications:

Be a United States Citizen
Reside in Alabama
Be at least 18 years of age on or before election day
You cannot be barred from voting by reason of a disqualifying felony conviction.
You must not have been judged "mentally incompetent" in a court of law

Voting Rights

Alabama felony conviction voting rights

In Alabama, people with felony convictions may lose voting rights beyond incarceration; restoration can depend on sentence completion, waiting periods, excluded offenses, or additional restoration steps. The state rules focus on felony convictions involving moral turpitude, and HB 282 defined the covered offenses. The...

Lost Until Completion of Sentence; Waiting Period or Additional Action Required

In Alabama, people with felony convictions may lose voting rights beyond incarceration; restoration can depend on sentence completion, waiting periods, excluded offenses, or additional restoration steps. The state rules focus on felony convictions involving moral turpitude, and HB 282 defined the covered offenses. The most recent listed action is 2017 HB 282, which defined felonies of moral turpitude.

Citation: Ala. Const. Art. VIII, § 177; Ala. Code § 17-3-30.1

Policy detail

The Alabama Constitution states that "No person convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude, or who is mentally incompetent, shall be qualified to vote until restoration of civil and political rights or removal of disability" (Ala. Const. Art. VIII, § 177). Before 2017, there was no comprehensive list of felonies that involve moral turpitude which would disqualify a person from voting. In 2017, HB 282 defined which crimes fit this category (Ala. Code § 17-3-30.1).

HB 282

Recent actions

2017 Enacted HB 282 defining felonies of “moral turpitude.”

Felony voting rights source

Work and Voting

Alabama time off for voting

Each employee in the state shall, upon reasonable notice to his or her employer, be permitted by his or her employer to take necessary time off from his or her employment to vote in any municipal, county, state, or federal political party primary or election for which the employee is qualified and registered to vote on...

Time off status: Yes

Each employee in the state shall, upon reasonable notice to his or her employer, be permitted by his or her employer to take necessary time off from his or her employment to vote in any municipal, county, state, or federal political party primary or election for which the employee is qualified and registered to vote on the day on which the primary or election is held. The necessary time off shall not exceed one hour and if the hours of work of the employee commence at least two hours after the opening of the polls...

Alabama Section 17-1-5 - Employers to allow time off for voting

Each employee in the state shall, upon reasonable notice to his or her employer, be permitted by his or her employer to take necessary time off from his or her employment to vote in any municipal, county, state, or federal political party primary or election for which the employee is qualified and registered to vote on the day on which the primary or election is held. The necessary time off shall not exceed one hour and if the hours of work of the employee commence at least two hours after the opening of the polls...

Lookup

Alabama voter information lookup

Check Your Voter Registration Status.

Voter Information Lookup

Use the lookup tool to check your voter registration status, check your polling place location, view your sample ballot, and check your absentee application and ballot status.

Find polling place and ballot details

Moving

Alabama moving and student voting

You must contact the Board of Registrars and submit an update to your voter registration record. Remember, where you live determines who represents you. To be sure you are voting on candidates in the correct district, it is important that you vote in the correct precinct.

Movers/college students Voting

You must contact the Board of Registrars and submit an update to your voter registration record. Remember, where you live determines who represents you. To be sure you are voting on candidates in the correct district, it is important that you vote in the correct precinct.

I have moved from one part of the country to another and want to vote. What should I do?

You must contact the Board of Registrars and submit an update to your voter registration record. Remember, where you live determines who represents you. To be sure you are voting on candidates in the correct district, it is important that...

I have moved from one county to another and want to vote. What should I do?

When you move across county lines, you must register to vote in your new county of residence. Voter registration does not automatically follow you from one county to another.

College Students Voting

Register at School or Home

As a student, you have a constitutional right to register and vote. You have a choice about where to register to vote either at your campus address or choose to remain registered or register at your permanent or home address. But before you make the important decision about where to vote, make sure you know the rules of registering to vote and voting in that state.

College Students

At School: If you attend school in Alabama, you can establish residency in Alabama if you have a present intention to remain at your Alabama school address for the time being and to make it your principal home.[5] Any other interpretation...
Your eligibility to vote can also be challenged at the polls, but only by an inspector (that is, an official poll worker).[10] If an inspector challenges your eligibility, you will have to vote a provisional ballot.[11] The inspector will...
Voting in Alabama may be considered a declaration of residency, potentially making you subject to other laws that govern state residents.

Learn more

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