With the 2020 primaries set for March 3, Limestone County voters are preparing to cast their votes. Voters will cast ballots in the presidential, senate and congressional races as well as a number of state and local races. Local races include the Limestone County Commission District 2 race between Danny Barksdale and Steve Turner, the Board of Education District 4 race between Belinda Maples and Heath Moss, and the Board of Education District 5 race between Kevin Dunn and Bradley Young.

As of January, the county had 66,447 registered voters, according to www.votelimestone.com. Voters had until midnight Monday to electronically register to vote in the election. Voters have until March 16 to register for any runoff elections and Oct. 19 to register for the general election.

Voters can visit alabamavotes.gov to check their registration status and polling places through the Alabama secretary of state’s website.

In addition to the presidential primary, perhaps the most notable race is the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeks the GOP nomination for the seat he held for 20 years but faces a crowded and competitive field that includes U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, former chief justice Roy Moore and others.

The primary winner will face U.S. Sen. Doug Jones in November.

Alabama voters will also decide a proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the elected state school board and replace it with a commission appointed by the governor.

Absentee voting

Voters have until Thursday, Feb. 27, to apply for an absentee ballot with the Limestone County Circuit Court Clerk on the first floor on the Limestone County Courthouse, 200 W. Washington St., Athens. The office is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays but closes noon–1 p.m. daily for lunch.

The last day to hand-deliver or postmark absentee ballots is Monday, March 2.

Crossover voting

The state’s crossover voting law went into effect Aug. 1, 2017. According to the law, an elector who votes in a primary election can only vote in a primary runoff election if it is in the same political party for which they voted in the primary election.

For example, those who vote in the Republican primary election cannot cross over and vote in a Democratic primary runoff election. However, those who did not vote in either primary would be eligible to vote in either runoff.

Visit www.votelimestone.com to find out more about voting in Limestone County.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.