Jefferson County voters will choose a sheriff and fill all five County Commission seats Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Bessemer Cutoff voters will pick an assistant tax assessor for the Bessemer Division, along with the statewide ticket and four proposed amendments to the state constitution. No local amendment or referendum is on the county’s ballot.
Sheriff Mark Pettway, a Democrat, faces Republican Jacob Reach of McCalla, a retired sheriff’s office captain who is an investigator with the Calera Police Department.
In County Commission District 3, which takes in Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, McCalla, Concord, Rock Creek, Adger and the western end of the county, part of Bessemer and most of Hoover’s Jefferson County side, Commission President Jimmie Stephens of Bessemer, a Republican, faces Democrat Camara Blue of McCalla, a pastor and former firefighter. It is the only contested commission race in the Cutoff.
Commissioner Sheila Tyson in District 2, which covers most of Bessemer, Brighton and Lipscomb, and Commissioner Lashunda Scales in District 1, which covers Fairfield, Midfield, Minor and Edgewater, both Democrats, are unopposed, as are Republicans Joe Knight in District 4 and Mike Bolin in District 5.
For assistant tax assessor of the Bessemer Division, Charles R. Winston of Hueytown, a Democrat who has held the office since 2015, faces Republican Delor Baumann, the former mayor of Hueytown. Democrat Mykeshia Myles Jones, the Brighton city clerk, who defeated Assistant Tax Collector Ron Marshall in the June runoff, is unopposed for assistant tax collector of the Bessemer Division. Tax Assessor Gaynell Hendricks and Tax Collector J.T. Smallwood, both Democrats, are unopposed countywide.
Seven judgeships on the countywide ballot are unopposed: Democrats Brian Huff, Shanta Craig Owens, Kechia Davis and Ruby Clark for Places 1, 2, 3 and 10 on the 10th Judicial Circuit bench, and Democrats Martha Reeves Cook, Maria Fortune and Tiffany Jones for Places 1, 2 and 7 on the Jefferson County District Court. Ronnie Dixon, a Republican, is unopposed for District 4 on the Jefferson County Board of Education, the only county school board seat on the ballot this year.
In the Legislature, state Sen. Merika Coleman, a Democrat, is unopposed in Senate District 19, which covers Bessemer, Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Fairfield, Midfield, Brighton, Lipscomb, McCalla, Concord and the Cutoff’s western communities. In Senate District 16, which takes in most of Hoover’s Jefferson County side, Sen. J.T. “Jabo” Waggoner, a Republican who has served since 1990, faces Democrat Spencer Stone of Pelham. Sen. Rodger M. Smitherman, a Democrat, in District 18, which includes Ross Bridge, Shannon and Oxmoor, and Republican Matt Woods in District 5, on the county’s rural western edge, are unopposed.
In state House District 15, which covers McCalla, the southwest edge of Bessemer and part of Hoover, Rep. Leigh Hulsey, a Republican, faces Democrat Nell Brown of McCalla. In District 16, which takes in Concord, Rock Creek, Adger and North Johns, Rep. Bryan Brinyark, a Republican, faces Democrat Christian Martin of Northport. In District 47, in southeast Hoover, Rep. Mike Shaw, a Republican, faces Democrat Jim Toomey of Vestavia Hills.
Reps. Ontario J. Tillman in District 56, which covers most of Bessemer and Lipscomb; Patrick Sellers in District 57, which covers Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Midfield and Brighton; and Travis Hendrix in District 55, which shares Fairfield with District 52, all Democrats, are unopposed, as are Democrat GiGi Hayes in District 52, who won the June runoff for the seat held by Rep. Kelvin Datcher, and Rep. David L. Faulkner, a Republican, in District 46, which covers Bluff Park. In District 60, which reaches Mulga, Democrat Alicia Escott Lumpkin, who defeated Rep. Juandalynn Givan in the May primary, is unopposed.
Nearly all of the Cutoff is in the 7th Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat, faces Republican Ammie Akin. The southeast corner of Hoover is in the 6th District, where U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, a Republican, faces Democrat Maurice Mercer, a former Pelham council president. Yvette M. Richardson, a Democrat, is unopposed for District 4 on the State Board of Education, which covers most of the Cutoff.
No local amendment or referendum is on Jefferson County’s ballot. The Secretary of State’s Aug. 26 certification lists local amendments for 26 counties, and Jefferson is not among them, and the county’s notice of the election, which ran in the Star Oct. 2, names no ballot question.
At the top of the ballot, Democrat Doug Jones, a former U.S. senator, and Republican Tommy Tuberville, the state’s senior U.S. senator, are running for governor to succeed Gov. Kay Ivey, who is term-limited. Democrat Phillip Ensler, a state representative from Montgomery, and Republican John Wahl, the former state party chairman, are running for lieutenant governor, and Democrat Everett Wess, a Birmingham attorney, and U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a Republican, for the Senate seat Tuberville is giving up.
Democrat Jeff McLaughlin and Republican Katherine Robertson are running for attorney general and Democrat Wayne Rogers and Republican Caroleene Dobson for secretary of state, both open seats. Democrat Rosilyn Houston faces State Treasurer Young Boozer, a Republican, and Democrat Violet Edwards faces State Auditor Andrew Sorrell, a Republican. Democrat Ron Sparks, who was commissioner of agriculture and industries from 2003 to 2011, and Republican Corey Hill, the mayor of Douglas, are running for that office.
On the Public Service Commission, where the incumbents in both places on the ballot lost Republican primaries this year, Democrat James O. Gordon and Republican Matt Gentry, the Cullman County sheriff, are running for Place 1 and Democrat Sheila D. McNeil and Republican Jim Zig Zeigler, the former state auditor, for Place 2.
Of the six appellate court seats on the ballot, only Supreme Court Place 8 is contested, between Democrat AshLeigh Meyer Dunham and Justice Greg Shaw, a Republican. Republicans Brad Mendheim for Supreme Court Place 7, Benjamin M. Bowden and Matt Fridy for Places 4 and 5 on the Court of Civil Appeals, and Mary Windom and Riggs Walker for Places 4 and 5 on the Court of Criminal Appeals are unopposed.
Four proposed amendments to the Alabama Constitution are on every ballot in the state. The Fair Ballot Commission’s statements on them, posted at AlabamaVotes.gov, say none of the four carries a cost or a tax. A yes vote changes the constitution; a no vote leaves it as it is.
Amendment 1 concerns the office of lieutenant governor. Under current law, if the office becomes vacant during a term, it generally stays vacant until the next regular election for it. The amendment would require an election to fill the office for the rest of the term if the vacancy comes more than 60 days before the next general election at which state officers are elected.
It would also let the Legislature set the pay of the lieutenant governor and of the officers of the House and Senate by joint resolution, and it would require that any spending of legislative funds on members’ travel be approved by an officer elected by the full membership of that chamber. It was proposed by Act 2026-341, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan.
Amendment 2 would create a way for two or more neighboring county school boards to merge into one multi-county school system by formal resolution of each board.
Before a merger could take effect, the State Board of Education would have to study its effects on students, families, programs, transportation, finances, taxes and school operations, and publish the study. If 25 percent of the qualified voters in any of the affected county systems filed a written protest, the merger could go forward only if a majority of voters in each affected county, and a majority of all votes cast across the counties, approved it at the next general election. It was proposed by Act 2026-378, sponsored by Rep. Terri Collins.
Amendment 3 would require every local board of education to adopt a policy requiring each public K-12 school to conduct the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each school day, with students given the chance to recite it voluntarily, and a policy allowing student-initiated, student-led prayer. No student could be required to take part in the prayer, and students could opt out of the pledge or the prayer on their own beliefs. Reported violations would go to the local superintendent. It was proposed by Act 2026-379, sponsored by Rep. Reed Ingram.
Amendment 4 would require local boards of education to adopt a policy requiring each public K-12 school to broadcast the first stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at least once a week during school hours. A board could instead allow a school-approved band, choir, vocal group or vocalist to perform it, using the version archived by the Library of Congress. It was proposed by Act 2026-424, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Voters must show a valid photo ID. The ballot offers a straight-party line for the Alabama Democratic Party and the Alabama Republican Party, and the offices that run by district appear only in the precincts they cover. An absentee ballot returned by hand is due at the absentee election manager’s office by the close of business Monday, Nov. 2. One returned by mail must arrive by noon on election day. Results will be posted at each polling place after the count and at AlabamaVotes.gov.