Madison County experienced “unprecedented” turnout for election

MADISON COUNTY – Madison County may have experienced its largest election turnout last week. According to election officials, the county had a nearly 60% turnout last Tuesday. 197,251 Madison County voters cast their ballot in the Nov. 5 general election.

“This was unprecedented for us and overwhelmed many locations creating wait times,” said Madison County Probate Judge Frank Barger. “We will review and address these issues prior to the next election cycle. But in the middle of it all, our election workers did a tremendous job.”

The high number of voters at the polls this election was fueled by the Presidential election this cycle, but there were a few highly anticipated local races to be decided too.

Steve Haraway won re-election to the Madison County Commission District 2 seat.

A former Madison City Councilman, Haraway was first elected as commissioner in 2012. He won with over 69% of the vote over his challenger, Libertarian Isaac Crow. A local small business owner, Crow said he believes uncontested races are a disservice to citizens and wanted to give voters a choice.

Also, Mac McCutcheon was elected as Madison County Commission Chairman.

McCutcheon was appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey to the Madison County Commission in 2023. He spent 15 years in the Alabama Legislature.

Moving forward, McCutcheon said the commission is involved in several projects prioritizing expanding road and water infrastructure in newly developed parts of the country. He received 53.64% of the vote.

His Democrat challenger, Guy Sotomayor, is new to politics. He highlighted his background in the Air Force during his cam- paign. He received 40.16% of the vote.

The Libertarian on the ballot, Alan Barksdale, is a longtime Madison County resident with a background in software development. He accounted for a little over 6% of the vote.

Madison County voters re-elected Republican incumbent Phil Vandiver as District 4 Commissioner Tuesday.

Vandiver has served 12 years on the commission. Heading into the election, he said there is still work to do to improve roads and community centers in his district. He won with nearly 75% of the votes over Libertarian Frank Hark Madison County voters also re-elected Barger as probate judge.

Prior to this election, Barger had served one six-year term and began his career in the probate office in 2011. During his time in office, Barger has helped pioneer using poll pads to check in voters, decreasing wait times on Election Day. He said he has worked to implement efficient practices in several areas, including fast-tracking adoptions in the county.

Barger received about 74% of the votes. Barger’s challenger, Jeffery Johnson, received 24.6%.

In other contested races, voters re-elected Tom Brandon as Madison County District 1 Commissioner, Phil Riddick as Madison County District 5 Commissioner, and Violet Edwards as Madison County District 6 Commissioner.

The full Nov. 5 election results for Madison County can be found at www. madisoncountyvotesal.gov.