Voter Registration Deadline: 15 days before Election Day.
2026 Election Information
Primary Election: May 19, 2026
Primary Runoff Election: June 16, 2026
General Election: November 3, 2026
More information regarding important dates and deadlines, including local elections, is available at https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/upcoming-elections, https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/election-information/2026, https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/election-2026/2026-VoterGuide.pdf, or contact your local election authority, which can be found here: https://www.sos.alabama.gov/city-county-lookup.
More election information available at:
https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes
Online voter registration available at:
alabamainteractive.org/sos/voter_registration/voterRegistrationWelcome.action
Mail-in voter registration form available at:
Students have a decision about where to register to vote.
You have a right to register to vote at the address you consider the place where you live, whether that is your family’s home or the place where you attend school. You should update your registration anytime this home address changes.
You may only be registered and vote in one location.
Online Registration: To register to vote online, you must have a valid Alabama driver’s license or non-driver ID. Please see the link above for Alabama’s online voter registration portal.
Paper Registration: Alabama’s paper voter registration form asks for your Alabama Driver’s License or Non-Driver ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number.
Alabama requires photo ID to vote both in person and absentee. Acceptable IDs may include the following:
If you do not have a valid form of photo ID, prior to Election Day, you may apply for a free photo ID by using this form. You may also request a home visit by a Photo Voter ID Mobile Unit by calling 1-800-274-VOTE (8683) or by using this form.
If you do not have a valid photo ID when voting in person, you are still eligible to cast a regular ballot if your name appears on the official voters list and you are positively identified by two election officials. Otherwise, you may cast a provisional ballot. Your provisional ballot will not count unless you provide a valid photo ID to the county board of registrars no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday following the election.
For more information about voter identification in Alabama, please visit: https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/voter-id.
Make a plan. Look up your voting site and hours at: https://myinfo.alabamavotes.gov/VoterView/PollingPlaceSearch.do
By Mail: Absentee voting in Alabama requires an excuse. You may cast an absentee ballot if: (1) you are enrolled as a student at an educational institution located outside the county of his or her personal residence, attendance at which prevents his or her attendance at the polls; (2) you expect to be absent from the county or state—or municipality for municipal elections—on Election day; (3) you are ill or have a physical infirmity preventing you from going to the polls; (4) you will be working a shift that has at least 10 hours coinciding with Election Day polling location hours; (5) you are an appointed elections officer or poll watcher serving at a polling place that is not your own; (6) you are a care giver to family member confined to their home; (7) you are incarcerated at a prison or jail but remain eligible to vote; or (8) you are a member of, or spouse of a member of, the Armed Forces or are qualified to vote absentee pursuant to the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
To be counted, an absentee ballot must be notarized or signed by two witnesses over the age of 18. Electronic or remote notarization of the absentee ballot affidavit is not allowed. Learn more about voting by mail by visiting: https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/absentee-voting
Election Day: Sites will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. If you are in line by closing time, you have the right to vote.
Does Registering to Vote Affect My Federal Financial Aid?
Where you register to vote will not affect federal financial aid such as Pell Grants, Perkins or Stafford loans, or your dependency status for FAFSA.
Does Registering to Vote Affect My Status as a Dependent on My Parents’ Taxes?
Being registered to vote at a different address from your parents does not prevent them from claiming you as a dependent on their taxes.
Does Registering to Vote Impact My Tuition Status?
Being deemed out-of-state for tuition purposes does not prevent you from choosing to register to vote in your campus community.
Will registering to vote in Alabama affect my driver’s license or car registration?
Registering to vote in Alabama does not necessarily affect your driver’s license or car registration. However, as a new resident of Alabama, you may be required to make changes to your driver’s license and car registration regardless of whether you register to vote there. You may wish to contact the Alabama Motor Vehicle Division.
Fair Elections Center and Campus Vote Project intend the information contained herein to be used only as a general guide. This document should not be used as a substitute for consultation with a licensed Alabama legal professional.
Last updated April 2026
Fair Elections Center filed a lawsuit alongside partners at Campaign Legal Center and Southern Poverty Law Center, to challenge Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen’s voter purge program, which targeted naturalized U.S. citizens for removal from the state’s voter rolls shortly before the November 2024 general election in violation of the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA) 90-Day Quiet Period.
On October 16, 2024, a federal judge halted Alabamas’ purge program. In March 2025, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen abandoned his illegal voter purge program, marking a win for Alabama voters.
