| ALABAMA | 9 Electoral Votes |
| Population
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Alabama Secretary of State)
Largest counties: Jefferson, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa. > Largest cities: Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Huntsville. > Government
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State
of Alabama Secretary of State AL
Democratic Party Alabama
Live Alabama
Live Pol.
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| Obama/Allies
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McCain/Allies
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[Primary Election: June 3, 2008]
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| Registration, Jan. 31, 2008 (active): 2,557,021. |
| Democrats 60 Delegates (52 Pledged, 8 Unpledged) and 9 Alternates. > 1.48% of the 4,049 Delegate Votes. 1.42% of the 4,234 Delegate Votes. Official Results
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Republicans 48 Delegates: 3 RNC; 24 at-large; 21 by CD (3 x 7 CDs). 2.02% of the 2,380 Delegates. At-large
delegate allocation - Winner-take-all if candidate receives 50%
statewide
primary vote; if not, then proportional w/ 20% threshold. Huckabee | McCain | Paul | Romney Official Results
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Setting the Primary
Date
The presidential
preference
primary has historically been held with the state primary on the first
Tuesday in June. In 2005 Rep. Ken Guin (D-Carbon Hill) introduced
a bill, HB100, to move the presidential primary forward; the House
passed
the bill on April 6, but the Senate failed to pass the bill by the
close
of session on May 16. In January 2006 Guin reintroduced his bill,
HB51, to establish a separate presidential primary "on the Saturday
immediately
following the New Hampshire presidential preference primary." The
bill, amended to set the presidential primary on first Tuesday in
February,
passed the House and the Senate and was delivered to Gov. Bob Riley (R)
on April 17, 2006. Riley signed the
bill on April 27. According to a fiscal note, HB51 "would
increase
the election expenses of the state, paid from the State General Fund,
by
an estimated $3.3 million for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008
and every fourth year thereafter." State primary remains in June.
[Also note. In the first part of 2006 the Democratic National Committee sought proposals from state parties to hold presidential caucuses or primaries early, in the pre-window period (i.e. before February 5, 2008), in an effort to increase diversity in the early stages of its nominating process. Alabama Democrats were among several state parties that applied to the DNC by the April 14, 2006 deadline seeking to hold their primary early. However the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, meeting on July 22, 2006, recommended South Carolina for the new pre-window primary position].
Qualifying for the
Presidential
Primary Ballot
Petitions signed by a
total
of not less than 500 qualified electors of the state, or petitions
signed
by not less than 50 qualified electors of each congressional district
of
the state submitted to respective state party chairman no later than
Nov.
7, 2007.
Voter Registration
Jan. 25, 2008 - Voter
registration
deadline in all counties except Baldwin and Mobile Counties. (Jan. 30
Early
voting day in Baldwin and Mobile Counties).
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2004
Overview The last Democrat to win in Alabama was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Bush-Cheney padded upon their 2000 showing and continued the Republican winning streak. Bush-Cheney gained a plurality of 482,461 votes (25.62 percentage points) over the Kerry-Edwards ticket and finished ahead in 56 of the state's 67 counties. General Election Details Kerry/Allies | Bush-Cheney '04 |
| Past Results |
1996
1992
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2000
Voter Registration:
2,528,963 |
2000
Overview Bush consistently had a comfortable lead in the polls, and there were no surprises on Election Day as the Bush-Cheney ticket won with a plurality of 248,562 votes (14.91 percentage points) and finished ahead of Gore-Lieberman in 49 of the state's 67 counties. In other races, "Ten Commandments" judge Roy Moore handily won the race for chief justice of the state Supreme Court, and voters approved Amendment 2 to remove the state's ban on interracial marriages. General Election Activity |
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| To qualify for presidential preference primary ballot access, a prospective candidate must file a petition or petitions with the state party chair between March 1 and March 15, 2004. The party chair may prescribe the petition format (not less than 500 valid signatures or not less than 50 valid signatures from each CD). |
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62 Delegates (Pledged 54, Unpledged 8) and 9 Alternates. |
Note: During the 2001 Regular Session, Sen. Steve
French
(R/Birmingham) introduced a bill to create a separate presidential
primary
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March (SB69).
Then-Secretary of State Jim Bennett supported that effort.
"During
the 2000 presidential primary season, Alabama's primary was dead last
among
the 50 states," Bennett said. "By the time Alabama voters went to the
polls,
the nominees of both major parties had long been selected and were
already
preparing for the general election." [April 19, 2001 press
release].
Bennett noted later, "Unfortunately, it did not travel far. The cost
factor
is the main deterrent. Alabama is facing some severe budget
restraints.
In our state, the taxpayers foot the bill for party primaries. I
don't think this is a dead issue, however, and we may see it again."
| Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action. |
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