Special primary election to be held Tuesday

By Editor | August 7, 2026 |

By Christa Jennings

Senior Staff Writer

While most do not think about August being a time to head to the polls, for Coosa County and voters in some other counties, Tuesday will be a day to cast ballots once again for this election season.

Coosa County is located in the Sixth Congressional District, one of four districts holding a special primary election Tuesday. The special election stems from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April in “Louisiana v. Callais” that ultimately led to Alabama now using a congressional map that had previously been declared unconstitutional by federal courts.

Gov. Kay Ivey previously called legislators into a special session to come up with a contingency plan for the election using the previous map if the court allowed it. When the Supreme Court made a decision in early June that granted the state permission to use the map, it then paved the way for Tuesday’s special primary election.

Unlike most primary elections, however, there will not be a runoff following the August 11 special election. Instead, whoever receives the most votes will win the party’s nomination outright and go on to be on the general election ballots on November 3.

Tuesday’s special primary election will decide the nominees for the general election in congressional districts 1, 2, 6, and 7. To view the districts, confirm a voter’s current congressional district assignment, check voter registration status, polling locations, and more, visit www.AlabamaVotes.gov.

Coosa County is located in District 6, which has six candidates vying for the seat, with incumbent Rep. Gary Palmer having one Republican candidate and four Democratic candidates running against him.

Those seeking the Democratic Party nomination for District 6 are Jacob Bouma-Sims, Ashtyn Kennedy, Maurice Mercer, and Keith Pilkington.

There are two candidates on the Republican Party ballot, Case Dixon and incumbent Palmer.

Because of the state redoing its primary election for those four House districts, votes cast for those offices in the May 19 primary race were voided. For districts 1 and 2 only one candidate qualified under the Democratic Party, and in District 7 only one candidate qualified under the Republican Party, so those candidates will not be included in Tuesday’s special election as they will go on to the general election in November, and there will be no special primary election for those affected parties.

Reverting to the previous map also impacted Senate districts 25 and 26 in the Montgomery area. However, those primaries do not need to be redone because neither party has more than one candidate running the special primary elections under the new map, so those candidates will go on to the general election.

While the Supreme Court’s ruling and the process that followed with changing maps and district lines has caused some confusion among voters, it is important to note that Tuesday’s special election is only a “do over” for those four congressional districts with the four U.S. House of Representatives races.

Votes previously cast for candidates in those races were voided, and voters will need to go to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots once again for those races. Votes cast for several other races in the May primary election were not voided, and those votes were still counted.

Voters who visit the polls Tuesday will once again choose either party’s ballot for the special primary election, regardless of which ballot they chose in May or if they did not vote at all.

Alabama does not require voters to register with one party or another, so voters can decide at the time of the primary election which party’s ballot they would like to choose and vote on. This choice also does not not bind the voter’s party choice for primaries in future years.

For those voting absentee, Monday is the last day to return and vote an absentee ballot in person. Mailed absentee ballots must be received by noon on Tuesday to count in the election results.

Those who win the most votes in Tuesday’s special election will go on to appear on the November 3 general election ballot, along with other major party candidates and qualified independent candidates.

Following the election night returns Tuesday, unofficial results will be reported. The next Tuesday, August 18, at noon any eligible provisional ballots will be reviewed and counted.

Once the results are verified, those votes will be added to the election night results, and the county’s results will then become official.

For more information on the August 11 special primary election, other upcoming elections, or to check voter information, visit the secretary of state’s website at www.AlabamaVotes.gov. For local information related to the election, registration status, or absentee voting, contact the Coosa County Board of Registrars at 256-377-2418 or the Judge of Probate’s Office at 256-377-4919.