Alabama counted 90% of its 2024 ballots by 11:38 p.m. ET
Alabama voters will elect leaders for federal, state and other offices on Tuesday. The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners across a ballot that runs from the U.S. Senate and governor’s office to agriculture commissioner, state auditor and state treasurer.
Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. Eastern.
The AP Decision Team said it will monitor results in races for U.S. Senate, governor, U.S. House, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, statewide ballot measures, state Supreme Court, state Senate, state House, agriculture commissioner, state auditor, Public Service Commission, state board of education and state treasurer.
The state’s most recent midterm offers a turnout benchmark: about 1.4 million votes were cast in the 2022 race for the U.S. Senate in Alabama.
Absentee ballots accounted for only a small share of that vote. About 3% of votes in the 2022 Senate race were cast by absentee ballot, and the AP noted that Alabama is “one of the only holdouts in the nation that doesn’t offer some form of in-person early voting.”
Most counties in Alabama are expected to report at least some absentee results in the first county vote reports on election night, according to the AP.
Recent cycles suggest a fast count once polls close. The first results of the 2024 general election were reported starting at 8:10 p.m. ET on Nov. 5 — 10 minutes after polls closed. The state reached 50% of votes reporting at 10:32 p.m. ET, and 90% of votes reporting at 11:38 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press does not make projections. It declares a winner only when it determines there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP said it will continue covering newsworthy developments — candidate concessions or declarations of victory among them — while making clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explaining why.
Two routes can put a close Alabama result through a recount. State law requires an automatic recount in a general election if a candidate’s margin of victory is 0.5% or less, and an eligible voter can also request a recount within 48 hours after the canvass of county returns. The AP said it may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
The AP is collecting its 2026 election coverage, including results from Alabama, at its elections hub.