Some Alabama Republicans consider early voting after long Election Day lines

A growing number of Alabama Republicans say that early voting needs to be explored by lawmakers after an Election Day that saw long lines outside polling places throughout the state and record-setting numbers of people voting early throughout the country.

The interest comes as Alabama remains one of only three states without any kind of in-person early voting, a process that allows voters ahead of the Election Day to cast a ballot, and which was utilized by more than 85 million Americans in 47 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday.

Alabama does allow for absentee voting if an excuse is provided.

"We've always been for election on Election Day," said State Rep. Mark Shirey, R-Mobile, and a member of the Alabama State House Constitution, Campaign and Elections Committee that is assigned to taking up election reform measures.

"But I think this election has shown it can be beneficial," he said. "If it contributes to more people contributing to the election process, I'm all for it as long as we can do it right."

Rep. Bob Fincher, R-Woodland, the committee chair, said he's willing to give an early voting initiative "a look," even if he is not a personal fan of it.

The comments come after Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, told media outlets on Wednesday that early voting needs to be explored, something which has previously only been an issue embraced by Alabama Democrats.

Clouse further reiterated his interest in exploring early voting on Thursday, saying that lawmakers need to find out what the costs would be in doing so.

"I think we need to see what other states are doing," said Clouse, a former General Fund chairman in the Alabama House, advocating for a study or an analysis of how much early voting costs elsewhere.

Leaders remain opposed But despite the growing interest among rank-and-file GOP lawmakers, Republican leaders in the state are not pushing for it.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey's spokesperson Gina Maiola said the governor is "proud of how Alabama administers elections, keeping them free and fair," and has not had "serious discussions" about early voting, though understands there is "certainly a renewed conversation around the practice" and deferred further comments to the Secretary of State's Office.

Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen and Alabama state GOP chairman John Wahl remain somewhat adamant in their opposition toward early voting. Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainville, is also reluctant to change the status quo.

"Since before I was elected as Secretary of State, I have been clear that I believe in Election Day, not election month," said Allen, a former Republican state lawmaker from Troy. "Alabamians deserve a fair, secure, and transparent election. Initiatives like no excuse absentee voting, unsolicited mass mail voting, curbside ballot drop boxes, and same-day voter registration can lead to chaos and confusion, like we have seen in other states."

National media reports suggest there was no widespread incidences of voting irregularities on or ahead of Tuesday's election.

Ledbetter said the state's elections are working good as is and without any problems that might warrant reform.

"Election security will always be priority number one, and I believe the presidential election shows Alabama is on the right track," he said. "I'm grateful to the poll workers, election officials and volunteers who worked diligently to ensure every vote was cast securely and counted accurately."

Shirey said the issue might surface for consideration during the Alabama House Republican Caucus meeting next week, or perhaps ahead of the spring legislative session.

"I'm all for it as long as we can do it right," he said.

Wahl said there is no need to even consider it.

"The Alabama Republican Party sees no need for early voting in our state," he said. "Alabama had its election results well before other states, which proves our system works. There are still states that have not reported their results, and they had early voting."

Indeed, a host of states are still tallying up final numbers and the fate of the U.S. House majority remains unknown. As of 2 p.m. on Thursday, t here were 27 U.S. House seats that had yet to be called.

National popularity But despite the lack of final numbers, the popularity and near ubiquity of early voting was hard to ignore this year. And Republicans took to early voting in equal-to-higher numbers than Democratic voters, particularly in the so-called "battleground" states where the outcome of the election focused on turnout.

The effort was driven partly by Republicans, who cast early ballots at a higher rate than in recent previous elections after a push by President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee to counter the Democrats' longstanding advantage in the early vote.

According to NBC News analysis of early voting , 48% of Republicans to 45% of Democrats in Georgia cast either a mail-in or early in-person ballot. A total of 4 million early votes were cast in Georgia, shattering previous records and representing more than four times the number of votes cast in the state during the entire March primary.

North Carolina saw an equal 33%-33% split between Democrats and Republicans who declared for an early voting ballot. Another 34% were described as "other." The state also saw a record-breaking 4.7 million early votes.

Republicans also outvoted their Democratic counterparts in early voting in Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, West Viriginia, and in swing-state Arizona. More than 60% of Florida voters cast an early vote . In Michigan, an equal number of the Republicans and Democrats were among the 3.3 million early voters in that state.

Jon Gray, a longtime Republican Party strategist based in Mobile, said early voting is working in other states and is popular among Republicans, and was touted by Trump during the campaign. He also said that Alabama already has a strong election system in place.

"I understand the historical reluctance here, but we are missing the opportunity for the low-propensity white votes," Gray said. "There is no Democratic operation in Alabama. We have voter ID in Alabama. We have ballot security. I just don't understand what we're missing here. How will we walk in more illegal voters if we require identification?"

Gary said the successes of early voting this election cycle simply showed that the system "worked."

"Just like the lottery, Alabama is behind the times," Gray said, referring to the lack of a statewide lottery in Alabama. The state is only one of five without lottery. Mississippi and New Hampshire are the only two states aside from Alabama without any early, in-person voting option.

"You have 75 percent who support it, and you have 25 percent of the bunch of mouth-breathers, heads-in-the-sand (people) who are sitting around saying, 'well, we just aren't there yet.'"

Long lines Wahl and Allen did acknowledge that the long lines at some of the polling places need to be addressed. People took to social media to post pictures of the long lines with some voters expressing complaints they had to wait for an hour or longer to vote.

That included Brandon Aldridge, a voter in Jefferson County who waited 1-1/2 hour to vote at the Center Point Senior Center on Polly Reed Road.

"It wasn't too bad, but it was just too long," said Aldridge. "Much rather vote early."

Said Wahl, "We do support addressing some concerns with longer lines. This can be accomplished by splitting precincts."

Allen said that county officials have the option to appoint more poll workers and add more polling locations within their precincts to address the elections that draw big crowds, primarily the presidential contests.

"I would encourage Alabama voters who experienced long wait times on Election Day to contact their county probate judges and county commissioners and encourage them to consider these solutions," Allen said, adding that his office will assist county officials in recruiting more poll workers through groups like Lawyers for Liberty and Heroes at the Polls.

Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile, and a longtime advocate for early voting, said it was "bittersweet" to see the long lines at the polls. She said the "sweet" part had to do with "so many people participating in the election process," while it was still concerning to witness too many people standing in line during a weekday.

"Some voters had been in line an hour or longer before the polls opened at 7 a.m. to ensure they could vote before going to work," Clarke said. "There's absolutely a better way. Hopefully, the Alabama Legislature will join the 47 other states that have some form of early voting and will pass early voting legislation in 2025. It's time."