All Alabama counties complete voter changes for special primary election
Voters had to be reassigned to different congressional districts in 14 counties for the Aug. 11 special primary.
Ryan Cooper 
Alabama is officially prepared for the upcoming special primary election. As of Wednesday, the Alabama Secretary of State’s office confirmed that all counties across the state have successfully completed the necessary voter reassignments for the August 11 special primary.
Managing the Transition
A total of 14 counties were required to reassign voters to new congressional districts to align with the state's updated map. While the majority of these counties finished the process early, Mobile and Jefferson counties opted to wait until after the June 16 primary runoff to finalize their data, ensuring no interference with ongoing election operations.
Mobile County Probate Judge Mark Erwin noted that the delay was a strategic decision. "We made the specific choice to wait until we had closed all matters related to the runoff election before we made those new changes to the voter database," Erwin explained. He confirmed that Mobile County successfully completed the changes in time to initiate absentee voting as required by state law, which mandates that the process begin 55 days before the election.
In Jefferson County, Board of Registrars Chairman Barry Stephenson also confirmed that the necessary adjustments were finalized on Wednesday. While the county delivered absentee ballots one day past the original target, Stephenson emphasized that waiting was essential to protect the integrity of the June 16 runoff data. "Had we done it before the June 16 election it would have caused errors in the underlying GIS data and ballot styles," he said.
Moving Toward August 11
State election officials have worked through a demanding timeline to manage the regular May 19 primary, the June 16 runoff, and now the upcoming special primary. With the reassignments finished, voters are encouraged to check their congressional district and registration information through the secretary of state’s online portal.
The current map reflects a June 2 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted Alabama to move forward with the district lines approved by the Legislature in 2023. This decision reversed a previous stance on the Voting Rights Act, influenced by the recent precedent established in Louisiana vs. Callais.
As the state pivots to the special primary, Republicans aim to utilize the Legislature's map to reclaim a 6-1 advantage in the U.S. House delegation, specifically targeting the District 2 seat lost in the previous cycle.
