Via the AP: Voter turnout across Alabama light to normal

In Alabama, the voter turnout for gubernatorial primaries since 1986 has averaged 36 percent. Secretary of State Nancy Worley, the state’s top election official, predicted 40 to 45 percent of Alabama’s 2.4 million registered voters would turn out Tuesday. But she added that turnout would vary dramatically between counties, depending on how many contested local races they had.

Of course, the headline doesn’t quite go with the article, as if the estimate is correct, this primary will have slightly higher than normal turnout.

At one point I expected this to be a heavy-turnout election, but after Moore fizzled there isn’t as much excitement.

One wonders the degree to which the anti-gay marriage amendment will drive some to the poll.

At my precinct at 3:00-ish the turnout was quite light.

One interesting side-note, Montgomery County is now using new ballots. Wisely the county replaced the old push-button electronic machines with optical scan ballots (instead of going touchscreen). The old machines had no paper trail, which is at least one of the reasons for the switch. They also looked to be fine 1970s tech.

The optical scan ballots are the best, as I have noted before, as they are easy to use and the ballot boxes themselves are electronic, and will spit the ballot back at you if you vote for more than one candidate per office or make a similar mistake.

Of course, these estimates always have a way of being unreliable.

For those in Alabama who care, I will be on For the Record on Alabama Public Television tonight between 6:30-7:00. I will not, as was previously posted, be on from 11:00-11:30. Travel fatigue and the need to rise early on Wednesday caused me to re-evaluate that commitment.

Via the Birmingham News:Candidates upbeat about vote

Alabama’s four leading gubernatorial hopefuls all predicted victory in today’s primary elections as they held separate news conferences around the state Monday.

Gov. Bob Riley, former Chief Justice Roy Moore and Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley each flew from one end of the state to the other.

Former Gov. Don Siegelman spoke outside the federal courthouse in Montgomery during a break in his corruption trial.

That last paragraph is just sad–and almost funny. Why the Siegelman did not pull out by now is beyond me (indeed, why he ran again with all of this over his head is beyond me).

I predict that Riley and Baxley both win outright today, despite the rosey prognostications of their opponents.

Via the Birmingham News: Polls match up Riley, Baxley in November

Alabama voters apparently will have a Bob Riley-Lucy Baxley gubernatorial matchup in the Nov. 7 general election, according to recent polls.

A trove of campaign cash, incumbency, economic good times and a lack of corruption can do a lot for any re-election-minded politician, and they seem likely to give Riley a big win over Roy Moore in Tuesday’s GOP gubernatorial primary.

Meanwhile, the daily drip of news from former Gov. Don Siegelman’s corruption trial appears to have given Lt. Gov. Baxley a big push toward victory in the Democratic gubernatorial nomination race.

And from there I would expect Riley to be re-elected by a comfortable margin.