NEW REPORT: More than 815,000 Voters Are Missing in Alabama amid Numerous Barriers to Ballot Box

MOBILE, Ala. – More than 815,000 Alabamians—21% of the state’s 3.8 million voting-aged citizens—are not regularly voting, according to a new report, “Missing Voters: The Real Threat to Alabama’s Democracy.” 

The report was released by Stand Up Mobile, a civic group in Mobile, Ala.; the Southern Leadership for Voter Engagement (SOLVE) Network, a coalition under Southern Coalition for Social Justice; and Dēmos, a national nonprofit public policy organization.

The “missing voters” analyzed in the report include disproportionate numbers of Black, Latino, and younger citizens, an indication of how Alabama’s election laws and processes unfairly exclude some historically silenced groups. 

“More than 800,000 Alabamians are missing from our elections, and that should concern all of us. But this report also gives us something just as important — a clearer understanding of what people are facing and what we can do about it,” said Beverly Cooper, Co-founder of Stand Up Mobile. “When we listen to people’s stories and remove the barriers in their way, we have an opportunity to grow the field and build a democracy where everyone has a voice. That kind of change is possible.”

It is not simple apathy or indifference behind this participation gap, but rather barriers like a lack of accessible voting options, and felony disenfranchisement rules crafted during Jim Crow, the report found. 

Click here to read the report

The report also found one in four eligible voters in Alabama indicated illness or disability kept them from voting in the 2024 election, an alarming rate twice the national average.

“With a ban on curbside voting, no early voting options, and a convoluted process for those with disabilities to vote by mail, it is unnecessarily hard for far too many people in Alabama to easily exercise their right to vote,” said Sarah Ovaska, Senior Communications Strategist at Southern Coalition for Social Justice. “Alabama should adopt more voting options without delay, so that every person can have a say in the future of their communities.”

As Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote from a Birmingham jail cell 63 years ago this week , “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” It is why we are calling for a renewed focus on how Alabama could improve its voting process.  

It's no accident that these barriers to the ballot box have affected so many Alabamians — many were specifically designed to close the door on voters of color and low-income communities.

"It's no accident that these barriers to the ballot box have affected so many Alabamians — many were specifically designed to close the door on voters of color and low-income communities," said Keshia Morris Desir, Associate Director of Democracy at Dēmos. "All voters deserve to have an equal say. Alabama lawmakers should adopt policies that expand and empower the electorate, as laid out in the report, rather than shut out their voices."  

Finally, the report recommends several ways Alabama could “find” its missing voters, including: 

• Pass the Alabama Voting Rights Act.
• Adopt early voting.
• Implement same-day and automatic voter registration.
• End felony disenfranchisement and restore voting rights automatically upon release.
• Adopt no-excuse absentee voting and allow ballot drop boxes.
• Ensure transparency and equity safeguards for polling place changes.
• Eliminate unnecessary ID barriers.
• Expand language access and accessible voting options.
• Limit law enforcement presence at polling locations to true emergencies.

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A media briefing about the Missing Voters report will be held at 10 a.m. CT, 11 a.m. Tuesday.

What: Media Briefing on the Alabama Missing Voters report.

Who:

• Beverly Cooper, Stand Up Mobile
• Keshia Morris Desir, Dēmos
• Sarah Ovaska, Southern Coalition for Social Justice

When: 10 a.m. CT, 11 a.m. ET, Tuesday, April 21

Where: Zoom. Click here to register. 

Media have permission to record the briefing, and a video link will be distributed following the event. Media interviews are also available upon request.

Stand Up Mobile is a grassroots, BIPOC-led organization based in Mobile, Alabama, focused on advancing civic engagement, voter education, and leadership development across historically excluded communities. Through year-round organizing, data-informed advocacy, and community-centered programming, Stand Up Mobile works to remove structural barriers to voting and strengthen participation in the democratic process. Learn more at standupmobile.org and follow Stand Up Mobile on Facebook and Instagram. Access voter tools and resources through the Vote Center at https://www.standupmobile.org/vote-center.

Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing, and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

Dēmos is a non-profit public policy organization working to build a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy and economy. We work hand in hand to build power with and for Black and brown communities, forging strategic alliances with grassroots and state-based organizations.