Absentee voting will open on March 30 for the May primary election. Probate Judge Charles Woodroof encourages voters to seek information regarding the voting procedure in Limestone County and changes to district lines.

“The biggest thing with the primary is, when the voter goes to their polling location and presents their photo ID to the process to be registered to vote, they will have to designate in which primary they choose to vote. In the past, that was done by them actually physically signing a Republican registration book or a Democratic registration book or a nonpartisan registration book,” said Woodroof.

Since Limestone County utilizes an electronic polling system now, voters will register for a party on a polling tablet rather than signing a registration book.

Voters will present their photo ID and then be allowed to designate on the tablet which party ballot they wish to complete.

The preferred form of photo ID is an Alabama driver’s license, as the poll worker can scan the barcode on the license to populate voter information and confirm residential status.

For the primary election, there will be a constitutional amendment to be voted on, in addition to voting for candidates.

“We have a constitutional amendment that the legislature has placed on this ballot cycle. So that constitutional amendment will be on every Republican ballot in Limestone County. It will be on every Democratic ballot in Limestone County. But, if someone chooses to vote on Election Day from just that constitutional amendment, there is a nonpartisan ballot that just has that one constitutional amendment,” said Woodroof.

The amendment pertains to appropriation funds for state parks and environmental causes.

While in a general election, voters can vote across party lines between open seats and write in names. In the primary election, voters can only vote within the party they register with upon arrival and cannot write in names.

A common point of confusion for voters is the absence of a candidate they wish to vote for on their ballot.

“Under Alabama law, the only races that will appear on the primary ballot are the races that have more than one candidate qualify. So, if only one candidate qualified with the Democratic Party for that race or the Republican Party for that race, that race will not be on the ballot because that candidate is that party’s representative for the general election in November,” said Woodroof.

He encourages voters to ask for help before casting a ballot if they are confused regarding anything on the ballot.

“If you have any questions about your ballot, please ask before it is cast into the voting tabulator because once that vote is cast, there’s nothing the poll workers can do. But if you have any questions regarding why a race is not on the ballot or why a candidate is not on the ballot, the workers and the inspectors will be glad to assist you any way that they can,” said Woodroof.

The May primary election determines what candidate will represent a party in the November general election. To qualify for the general election, the candidate must receive the majority of votes.

“Under Alabama law. If a candidate does not receive a majority of the vote, there will be a primary runoff election,” said Woodroof.

The runoff election will take place four weeks from the primary election, should it be necessary.

Voters can only vote in the runoff election for the party they registered with during the primary election.

At the ballots, voters will notice changes in districts. Following the 2020 census, legislatures redrew districts and lines changed across Limestone County.

Voters can visit votelimestone.com to view changes to the voting districts before arriving at the primary ballots.

“There may be multiple voters that have always voted in a particular state Senate or a particular state House or possibly even a county commission race that will no longer see that race on their ballot because they’re no longer in that district. So I would encourage, again, educating voters to make certain they realize the district lines have changed and to look at who the candidates are in their particular race,” said Woodroof.

While the county still has five state representatives, some districts grew, and others shrunk. Limestone County had three state senators, but now four state senators represent the county, districts one, two, three, and six. State house districts two, four, five, and six represent the county.

Limestone County is still represented by U.S. House District 5.

There are 25 polling precincts across Limestone County, staffed by more than 200 poll workers. The commission recently added a second polling location to the precinct along the county line to alleviate crowding at the Lamb of God Lutheran Church polling location. Designating a spot for the new site is still a work in progress.

“The city of Madison has been instrumental in assisting us in finding a new location or finding an additional location. The proposed location was the most Merciful Jesus Catholic Church on Segers road. Myself, our elections director Ms. (Bobbi) Bailey and the City Clerk from the city of Madison, Lisa Thomas had visited that location. Unfortunately, the area of the building that they could make available on election day does not fulfill the requirements of what we would need to process the number of voters in that location,” said Woodroof.

When election officials and the City of Madison agree on a new polling location, they will notify voters in the precinct.

Absentee voting opens on March 30. Voters can apply online at votelimestone.com or in the courthouse annex at the registrar’s office.

“Alabama in 2020 had some amended absentee election qualifiers due to the COVID pandemic and everything we were going through from the state level that allowed more general absentee voting over and above just the standard regulatory requirements of absentee voting,” said Woodroof.

Limestone County saw more than 10 percent of voters cast an absentee ballot during the 2020 general election; the most absentee votes ever cast during an election in Limestone.

These qualifiers are not currently in place for the 2022 primary election. Voters can view qualifying circumstances for absentee voting at votelimestone.com.

Absentee applications via mail must be received seven days before the primary election. In-person applications must be received five days before the primary election.

The registrar must receive in-person absentee ballots by the close of business the day before the primary election.

The last day to register to vote is 14 days before the primary election.

The primary election will take place on May 24.

For questions regarding absentee voting, contact the registrar’s office in the courthouse annex. For all other inquiries, visit votelimestone.com.