How To Vote in Mobile, Alabama

How To Vote in Mobile

Everything a voter in Mobile and Mobile County needs for the General, Constitutional Amendment and Special Election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026: who can vote, the photo ID Alabama requires, how and when to register, how absentee voting works, where to vote, what is on the ballot, and who holds every office you vote for. Every fact here was checked in September 2026 against the Alabama Secretary of State, the Probate Court of Mobile County and the Mobile County Board of Registrars.

THE DATES THAT MATTER

Monday, October 19, 2026 — last day to register to vote. Registration is closed for the 14 days before an election.

Tuesday, October 27 / Thursday, October 29, 2026 — absentee applications due: received by mail by Oct 27, or in person by Oct 29.

Monday, November 2, 2026 — hand-delivered absentee ballots due by 5pm.

Tuesday, November 3, 2026 — Election Day. Polls open 7am to 7pm. Mailed absentee ballots must arrive by noon.

Before you go: Alabama requires a photo ID to vote, and there is no early voting in Alabama — you vote on Election Day at your assigned polling place, or by absentee ballot if you qualify. More than 37,000 Mobile County voters were found marked “inactive” in the 2025 mayoral runoff, so check your registration now.

Can I vote? The ID you need Registering Primaries & party When to vote Where to vote My ballot The offices, explained Learn more Who to call

1. Can you vote?

To register in Alabama you must be a United States citizen, live in Alabama, and be at least 18 on or before Election Day. You cannot register if a court has declared you mentally incompetent, or if you have a disqualifying felony conviction and your rights have not been restored. Alabama does not register voters by party.

If you have a past felony conviction

In Alabama, only a felony “involving moral turpitude” takes away your right to vote, and the state law lists exactly which ones (Ala. Code § 17-3-30.1, updated in 2024). They include murder and manslaughter; first- and second-degree assault; kidnapping; rape, sodomy and other sex offenses; human trafficking; robbery; first- and second-degree burglary and theft; forgery; drug trafficking; aggravated child abuse; terrorism and treason; and any felony against an election official. If your felony is not on the list — simple drug possession, for example — you can register to vote now.

If your conviction is on the list, you can apply to the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote (CERV). You qualify if you were not convicted of an excluded offense (such as murder, rape, certain sex offenses against children or treason), have no pending felony charges, have finished your sentence including parole or probation, and have paid all fines, court costs, fees and restitution. People who do not qualify for a CERV can apply for a pardon instead. Bureau of Pardons and Paroles: (334) 242-8700.

Restore your voting rights (CERV)The full list of disqualifying crimes

2. The ID you need

Bring one of these to the polls:

Alabama driver’s license (valid, or expired less than 60 days)
Alabama non-driver ID (valid, or expired less than 60 days)
Alabama Photo Voter ID card (free)
A state-issued ID from Alabama or any other state
A federal-issued ID, or a U.S. passport
An employee ID from the federal government, the State of Alabama, a county, a city or a state board
A student or employee ID from an Alabama college or university, or a state college in another state
Military ID
Tribal ID

Only the Alabama driver’s license and non-driver ID get the 60-day grace period — every other ID must be current.

No ID? Get one free in Mobile

If you are registered and do not have a valid photo ID, the Mobile County Board of Registrars issues a free Alabama Photo Voter ID card: 151 Government Street, Room 165, Mobile, AL 36602, (251) 574-8586, Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm. Bring a document showing your full legal name and date of birth. VoteRiders will help you gather what you need for free — call or text 866-432-8683.

If you show up without ID

You can still vote a regular ballot if two election officials at your polling place positively identify you as an eligible voter and sign a sworn statement. Otherwise you vote a provisional ballot, which only counts if you bring a valid photo ID to the Board of Registrars by 5pm on Friday, November 6, 2026. Absentee voters must include a copy of their photo ID.

3. Registering to vote

The rule: registration closes 14 days before every election. For November 3, 2026, the last day is Monday, October 19. If you mail your form, send it well before October 19 — sources disagree on whether a mailed form must be postmarked or received by that date (pending confirmation), so do not cut it close.

Online at AlabamaVotes.gov. You need an Alabama driver’s license or non-driver ID.
By mail using the state form, sent to the Mobile County Board of Registrars, 151 Government Street, Room 165, Mobile, AL 36602.
In person at the Board of Registrars (same address, Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm), or at driver license offices, public libraries, and DHR, WIC, Medicaid and Rehabilitation Services offices.

If your registration was marked inactive, Probate Judge Mark Erwin says you can fill out a short update form at your polling place and still vote a regular ballot — but check your status ahead of time.

4. Primaries and party

Alabama runs open primaries: you do not register by party, and you choose a party’s ballot on primary day. Since 2017 there is a crossover ban for runoffs — if you voted in one party’s primary, you may only vote in that same party’s runoff. The rule does not apply to general elections like November 3. This year’s primary was May 19 and the runoff June 16, 2026. A special congressional primary was held August 11 after Alabama returned to its own 2023 congressional map, under which all of Mobile County is in the 1st Congressional District.

5. When to vote

Alabama has no in-person early voting. You either vote on Election Day or vote absentee if you qualify.

Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 7am to 7pm. If you are in line when polls close, you still get to vote.

Absentee voting — you need a reason

You can vote absentee if one of these applies to you:

You will be out of Mobile County on Election Day
Illness or a physical disability keeps you from getting to the polls
You are 65 or older, or have a disability, and are physically unable to go
You live outside the county — military, overseas, or a college student
You are an election officer or poll watcher at a different polling place
Your employer requires you to work a shift of 10 hours or more that overlaps the poll hours
You are the caregiver for a family member confined to home
You are incarcerated but not convicted of a disqualifying felony

Step	Deadline
Application by mail	Must be received by Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Application in person	By Thursday, October 29, 2026
Ballot hand-delivered (by you only)	By 5pm Monday, November 2, 2026
Ballot by mail	Must arrive by noon Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Emergency absentee	Until 5pm the day before the election, for qualifying emergencies

Include a copy of your photo ID, and have the affidavit envelope notarized or signed by two witnesses age 18 or older — a ballot without one of these is not counted. Only you may return your own ballot. The Secretary of State advises mailing at least two weeks before the deadline.

Apply or vote absentee in person at the Absentee Election Manager’s office (Susan Potts): Mobile County Government Center Annex, 1st Floor, 151 Government Street, Mobile, AL 36602, (251) 574-6400. Weekday hours and any Saturday openings for this election are pending confirmation — call before you go.

A 2024 state law (SB1) makes it a crime to hand someone a pre-filled absentee application or to turn in anyone’s application but your own. A federal court order still protects the right of blind, disabled and low-literacy voters to get help from a person they choose, and that case is before the Alabama Supreme Court.

Absentee voting rules and forms

6. Where to vote

In Mobile County you vote at your assigned polling place for your precinct — you cannot vote anywhere in the county. If you go to the wrong one, you will be given a provisional ballot. Look up yours before Election Day.

Find my polling place Full 2026 Mobile County polling place list

A sample of polling places from Mobile County’s 2026 Voting Center List, spread across the county. Your assigned location is the only one that counts for you — confirm it with the lookup above.

Polling place	Address	Area
Bishop State Community College	351 N. Broad Street, Mobile 36603	Downtown
Thomas Sullivan Community Center	351 N. Catherine Street, Mobile 36603	Mobile
James Seals Jr. Park and Recreation Center	540 Texas Street, Mobile 36603	Down the Bay
Via! Senior Center	1717 Dauphin Street, Mobile 36604	Midtown
Mobile Museum of Art	4850 Museum Drive, Mobile 36608	Langan Park
Dauphin Way Baptist Church	3661 Dauphin Street, Mobile 36608	Midtown
Robbins Elementary	2416 W. Main Street, Prichard 36610	Prichard
Sunlight Auditorium	809 Seminary Street, Prichard 36610	Prichard
Robert L. Hope Community Center	850 Edwards Street, Prichard 36610	Prichard
First Baptist Chickasaw	92 Fifth Street, Chickasaw 36611	Chickasaw
Saraland Civic Center	716 Mae Street, Saraland 36571	Saraland
Shelton Beach Road Baptist Church Gym	401 Shelton Beach Road, Saraland 36571	Saraland
Semmes First Baptist	4070 Wulff Road E., Semmes 36575	Semmes
Azalea City Church of Christ	3550 Schillinger Road N., Semmes 36575	West Mobile
Surge Church	2900 Dawes Road, Mobile 36695	West Mobile
Our Savior Catholic Church	1801 S. Cody Road, Mobile 36695	West Mobile
Theodore Church of God	6360 Theodore Dawes Road, Theodore 36582	Theodore
St. Philip Neri Catholic Church	9101 Dauphin Island Parkway, Theodore 36582	Theodore

Curbside voting is banned in Alabama by a 2021 state law. Voters with disabilities can vote absentee, bring a person of their choice (not their employer or union representative) to help them inside the polls, and report accessibility problems to the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program at 800-826-1675.

7. My ballot

No two addresses in Mobile County get exactly the same ballot — your state House and Senate district, county school board district and some local questions depend on where you live. Pull up your own sample ballot before you go, and take it with you.

Mobile County sample ballot My personal sample ballot

Races on the November 3, 2026 ballot

Office	Democrat	Republican
Governor	Doug Jones	Tommy Tuberville
Lieutenant Governor	Phillip Ensler	John Wahl
U.S. Senator	Everett Wess	Barry Moore
U.S. Representative, 1st District	Clyde Jones Jr.	Jerry Carl
Attorney General	Jeff McLaughlin	Katherine Robertson
Secretary of State	Wayne Rogers	Caroleene Dobson
State Treasurer	Rosilyn Houston	Young Boozer
State Auditor	Violet Edwards	Andrew Sorrell
Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries	Ron Sparks	Corey Hill
Public Service Commission, Place 1	James O. Gordon	Matt Gentry
Public Service Commission, Place 2	Sheila D. McNeil	Jim Zig Zeigler
Supreme Court, Place 7	—	Brad Mendheim
Supreme Court, Place 8	Ashleigh Meyer Dunham	Greg Shaw
Mobile County Sheriff	Pamela J. Laffitte	Paul Burch
Mobile County Revenue Commissioner	—	Kim Hastie
District Court Judge, Place 3	—	C. Zackery Moore

Also on the ballot, depending on your address: the Court of Civil Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals (Places 4 and 5, all Republicans unopposed), your State Senate and State House districts, and Mobile County Board of Education Districts 3 (Reginald Crenshaw, D, vs. Meika Gordon Garner, Independent) and 4 (Sherry Dillihay-McDade, D, vs. Michael Fasano, R).

Statewide amendments

Amendment 1 — sets up a special election for lieutenant governor if the office becomes vacant in the first two years of a term.
Amendment 2 — creates a process to merge two or more neighboring county school systems, with studies, a protest period and a local vote.
Amendment 3 — requires every public K-12 school to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily and allows student-led prayer, with opt-outs.
Amendment 4 — requires public K-12 schools to play or perform the first verse of the national anthem each week.

Mobile County questions

Local Amendment 1 — lets taxpayers 65 and older claim a senior property-tax exemption under certain conditions and raises the income limit for certain homestead exemptions to $50,000.
Road, Bridge and Drainage Bonds — authorizes up to $82 million in pay-as-you-go bonds for county roads, bridges and drainage, tied to continuing an existing special property tax (exact millage wording pending confirmation against the ballot text).

8. The offices, explained

Every office a Mobile voter chooses, who holds it today, and what the job actually does. Offices marked Not on the Nov 3 ballot are still yours — they come up in a different year. City of Mobile and Prichard elections are held in August of the year after a presidential election; the next is 2029.

City of Mobile

Mayor of MobileNOT ON THE NOV 3 BALLOT

Currently: Spiro Cheriogotis

Mobile's chief executive. Runs city departments (police, fire, public works, parks), proposes the city budget, and signs or vetoes council ordinances.

Term: 4-year term; took office Nov 3, 2025; next city election Aug 2029

New: won Sept 23, 2025 runoff over Barbara Drummond (51.4%-48.6%) and sworn in Nov 3, 2025, succeeding Sandy Stimpson. Elections are officially nonpartisan (he is a Republican).

How To Vote in Mobile, Alabama