Dirty Boots: Irregular Attempts at Critical Thinking and Border Crossing offers a Deep Southern, Generation X perspective on the culture, politics, and general milieu of the 21st century.

The Alabama primaries are coming up on May 19, in just over a month, and I want to encourage every eligible resident in our state to register and to vote. No matter one’s political stripe, having a strong turnout is important in a democracy.

Being conscientious about registering and voting is especially important in Alabama because of when and how our statewide elections occur. Our major statewide elections are held during midterm cycles – those national election years when the presidency is not on the ballot – and for midterms, turnout is typically lower everywhere. Four years ago, in November 2022, turnout in Alabama was 38.6%. (Nationally, turnout was 52.2%.) Of Alabama’s nearly 3.7 million registered voters, about 2.2 million voters didn’t cast a ballot at all— that’s six-in-ten.

In the most recent presidential election year, turnout was better but still not great. Our Secretary of State reported to The Alabama Reflector in November 2024 that turnout for that election was 58.5%, which was “the lowest turnout for any state presidential election since 1988.” Turnout in 2024 was twenty percentage points higher than what it was in 2022, but four-in-ten Alabama voters still chose not to participate. 

What makes this noteworthy can be relayed through the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama’s Public Opinion Survey 2023. On pages 19 and 20, we find information about responses to these two statements: “Officials in Montgomery do not care what people like me think,” and “People like me have no say in what the government in Montgomery does.” For the ten-year span between 2013 and 2023, Alabamians surveyed said they agree with that first statement at a rate of 60% to 69% and with that second statement at a rate of 52% to 63%, with no significant jumps or drops. So . . . if about six-in-ten Alabamians don’t vote during our statewide-office elections, and around six-in-ten people believe that state politicians don’t care about them, a correlation between that inaction and those sentiments seems possible.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. If more people vote, outcomes could change.

For those who may not be registered or who may need more information, the Alabama Secretary of State’s office offers a 2026 Voters Guide, which contains the information below: