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Presidential election in Alabama, 2016

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General election in Alabama
  Date: November 8, 2016
2016 winner: Donald Trump
Electoral votes: Nine
2012 winner: Mitt Romney (R)
Democratic Primary
  Date: March 1, 2016
Winner: Hillary Clinton
Republican Primary
  Date: March 1, 2016
Winner: Donald Trump
Down ballot races in Alabama
  U.S. Senate
U.S. House
Alabama judicial elections
Alabama local judicial elections
Ballot measures
School board elections
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Alabama held an election for the president of the United States on November 8, 2016. The state held primaries for the Republican and Democratic parties on March 1, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Donald Trump won Alabama in the general election.
  • In 2016, Alabama had nine electoral votes, which was 1.7 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 3.3 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election.
  • Between 1900 and 2016, Alabama cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 51.72 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Alabama supported Democratic candidates more often than Republican candidates, 53.33 to 40 percent. The state, however, supported Republican candidates in every election between 2000 and 2016.
  • Presidential primary elections in Alabama took place on March 1, 2016. Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary with 77.9 percent of the vote. Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 43.4 percent.

    • General election candidates and results

    See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

    The candidate list below is based on an official list on the Alabama secretary of state website. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were listed on the official list—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November.

    Presidential candidates on the ballot in Alabama

    ☐ Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
    ☑ Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)
    ☐ Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian - listed as Independent)
    ☐ Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Green - listed as Independent)

    Results

    U.S. presidential election, Alabama, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 34.4% 729,547 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump/Mike Pence 62.1% 1,318,255 9
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Bill Weld 2.1% 44,467 0
         Green Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka 0.4% 9,391 0
         Other Write-in votes 1% 21,712 0
    Total Votes 2,123,372 9
    Election results via: Alabama Secretary of State

    Historical election trends

    See also: Presidential election accuracy

    Below is an analysis of Alabama's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.

    Presidential election voting record in Alabama, 1900-2016

    Between 1900 and 2016:

    • Alabama participated in 30 presidential elections.
    • Alabama voted for the winning presidential candidate 51.72 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.[1]
    • Alabama voted Democratic 53.33 percent of the time and Republican 40 percent of the time.

    Third party votes

    Alabama's electoral votes went to third party candidates on two different occasions between 1900 and 2016. In 1948, Harry S. Truman ran as a Democrat, Thomas E. Dewey ran as a Republican, and J. Strom Thurmond ran under the States' Rights Democratic Party, also known as the Dixiecrats. Thurman won Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.[2] In 1960, Harry F. Byrd (D), running against Richard Nixon (R) and John F. Kennedy (D), took six unpledged electoral votes in Alabama and one in Oklahoma. He did win Mississippi with eight electoral votes.[3][4] In 1968, Richard Nixon ran as the Republican, Hubert H. Humphrey ran as the Democrat, and George Wallace ran under the American Independent Party and won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.[5]

    Presidential election voting record in Alabama, 2000-2016

    *An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.

    Election results

    2012

    U.S. presidential election, Alabama, 2012
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Barack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent 38.4% 795,696 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMitt Romney/Paul Ryan 60.5% 1,255,925 9
         Independent Gary Johnson/Jim Gray 0.6% 12,328 0
         Independent Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala 0.2% 3,397 0
         Independent Virgil Goode/James Clymer 0.1% 2,981 0
         Write-in Write-in candidates 0.2% 4,011 0
    Total Votes 2,074,338 9
    Election results via: Alabama Secretary of State

    2008

    U.S. presidential election, Alabama, 2008
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Barack Obama/Joe Biden 38.7% 813,479 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn McCain/Sarah Palin 60.3% 1,266,546 9
         Independent Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez 0.3% 6,788 0
         Independent Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root 0.2% 4,991 0
         Independent Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle 0.2% 4,310 0
         Write-in Write-in candidates 0.2% 3,705 0
    Total Votes 2,099,819 9
    Election results via: Alabama Secretary of State

    Electoral votes

    See also: Electoral College

    The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in the Electoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.

    Alabama electors

    In 2016, Alabama had nine electoral votes. Alabama's share of electoral votes represented 1.7 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 3.3 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president. Democratic and Republican electors in Alabama in 2016 were chosen by the executive committees of state political parties.

    "Faithless electors"

    The U.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as "faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.

    Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[7][8]

    Alabama was one of 31 states in 2016—including the District of Columbia—with a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.

    Down ballot races

    See also: Alabama elections, 2016

    Below is a list of down ballot races in Alabama covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.

    Primary election (March 1, 2016)

    Quick facts

    Democrats:
    • 2016 Democratic winner: Hillary Clinton
    • Poll leader: Hillary Clinton
    • 2008 Democratic winner: Barack Obama
    • Type: Primary
    • Delegate allocation: Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 53
    • Total delegates at stake: 60
    		 Republicans
    • 2016 Republican winner: Donald Trump
    • 2012 Republican winner: Rick Santorum
    • Type: Primary
    • Delegate allocation: Proportional*
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 50
    • Total delegates at stake: 50

    *The Alabama GOP includes a provision in its nominating rules allowing any candidate who wins 50 percent of the vote cast within the state or each of the congressional districts to receive all of the state’s at-large and congressional district delegates. For more on this provision, see here.

    Democrats

    Hillary Clinton won Alabama's 2016 Democratic primary.[9] Nearly 80 percent of Democratic primary voters chose Clinton in 2016. In 2008, Clinton came in second with 42 percent behind Barack Obama who won the 2008 Alabama Democratic primary with 56 percent of the vote.[10] A Monmouth University Poll taken days ahead of Super Tuesday in 2016 showed Clinton with a commanding 71 percent to 23 percent lead over Bernie Sanders.[11] Exit polling data collected by CNN showed that Clinton swept both men and women and all age groups except for 18-29. Sanders won the support of 55 percent of those voters.[12]

    Republicans

    Donald Trump won Alabama's 2016 Republican primary.[13] In a poll conducted by Monmouth University February 25-28, 2016, Donald Trump had the support of 42 percent of likely Republican primary voters. Marco Rubio was second with 19 percent.[11] Exit polls conducted by CNN showed that Trump carried men and women and all age groups except 30-39. By a small margin, those voters supported Rubio, as did voters with a postgraduate education. Trump won the support of 57 percent of veterans and 45 percent of born-again or evangelical Christians. Seventy-eight percent of Republican voters polled by CNN described themselves as conservative and Trump won the support of 45 percent of these voters. Just 22 percent of the Republican primary voters surveyed identified themselves as moderate or liberal and Trump won 45 percent of their support as well. Ted Cruz had the support of 23 percent of conservatives; Rubio had 16 percent.[14]

    Primary results

    Democrats

    Alabama Democratic Primary, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngHillary Clinton 77.9% 309,071 44
    Bernie Sanders 19.2% 76,059 9
    Martin O'Malley 0.4% 1,479 0
    Roque De La Fuente 0.2% 804 0
    Other 2.4% 9,438 0
    Totals 396,851 53
    Source: AlabamaVotes.gov

    Republicans

    Alabama Republican Primary, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump 43.4% 373,721 36
    Ted Cruz 21.1% 181,479 13
    Marco Rubio 18.7% 160,606 1
    Ben Carson 10.2% 88,094 0
    John Kasich 4.4% 38,119 0
    Jeb Bush 0.5% 3,974 0
    Chris Christie 0.1% 858 0
    Carly Fiorina 0.1% 544 0
    Lindsey Graham 0% 253 0
    Mike Huckabee 0.3% 2,539 0
    Rand Paul 0.2% 1,895 0
    Rick Santorum 0.1% 617 0
    Other 0.9% 7,953 0
    Totals 860,652 50
    Source: AlabamaVotes.gov

    Candidate list

    Democrats[15]

    Kennedy King Brown
    Hillary Clinton


    Roque De La Fuente
    Martin O'Malley


    Bernie Sanders

    Republicans[16]

    Jeb Bush
    Ben Carson
    Chris Christie
    Ted Cruz
    Carly Fiorina


    Lindsey Graham
    Mike Huckabee
    Bobby Jindal
    John Kasich


    Rand Paul
    Marco Rubio
    Rick Santorum
    Donald Trump

    Polls

    Democratic primary

    Democratic Party Democratic Party presidential primary polling (Alabama)
    Poll Hillary Clinton Bernie SandersUnsure or OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
    Monmouth University
    February 25-28, 2016    		71%23%6%+/-5.7300
    Public Policy Polling
    February 14-16, 2016    		59%31%10%+/-4.4500
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

    Republican primary

    Republican Party Republican Party presidential primary polling (Alabama)
    Poll Donald Trump Marco RubioTed CruzBen CarsonJohn KasichUnsure or OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
    Monmouth University
    February 25-28, 2016    		42%19%16%11%5%7%+/-4.6450
    Master Image
    February 24, 2016    		36%19%12%8%7%17%+/-4.21,556
    Opinion Savvy
    February 25-26, 2016    		35.8%23%16.2%10.5%7.5%7%+/-4.6460
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

    Delegates

    Delegate selection

    See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

    Democratic Party

    Democratic Party Logo.png

    Alabama had 60 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 53 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.[17][18]

    Seven party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[17][19]

    Alabama superdelegates

    See also: Superdelegates from Alabama, 2016 and Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

    Republican Party

    Logo-GOP.png

    Alabama had 50 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 21 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's seven congressional districts). Alabama's district-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 20 percent of the vote in a congressional district in order to have received any of that district's delegates. The highest vote-getter in a district was allocated two of the district's three delegates; the second highest vote-getter received the remaining delegate. If only one candidate met the 20 percent threshold in a district, he or she won all of the district's delegates. If no candidate won at least 20 percent of the vote, then the 20 percent threshold was discarded. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in a district, he or she received all three of that district's delegates.[20][21]

    Of the remaining 29 delegates, 26 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate must have won 20 percent of the statewide vote in order to have received a share of the state's at-large delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide vote, he or she was allocated all of Alabama's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[20][21]

    Republican delegates

    See also: Republican delegates from Alabama, 2016 and RNC delegate guidelines from Alabama, 2016

    Presidential voting history

    Alabama presidential election results (1900-2024)

    • 16 Democratic wins
    • 14 Republican wins
    • 2 other wins
    Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960[22] 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
    Winning Party D D D D D D D D D D D D SR[23] D D D R AI[24] R D R R R R R R R R R R R R


    State profile

    Demographic data for Alabama
     AlabamaU.S.
    Total population:4,853,875316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):50,6453,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:68.8%73.6%
    Black/African American:26.4%12.6%
    Asian:1.2%5.1%
    Native American:0.5%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
    Two or more:1.7%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:84.3%86.7%
    College graduation rate:23.5%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$43,623$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:23.3%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alabama.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Alabama

    Alabama voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.


    More Alabama coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ This average includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which did not participate in all 30 presidential elections between 1900 and 2016. It does not include Washington, D.C., which cast votes for president for the first time in 1964, or Alaska and Hawaii, which cast votes for president for the first time in 1960.
    2. ↑ U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, "Electoral Votes, 1940-1948," accessed June 21, 2016
    3. ↑ U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, "Electoral Votes, 1960," accessed June 21, 2016
    4. ↑ University of California Santa Barbara, "The American Presidency Project, Election of 1960," accessed June 22, 2016
    5. ↑ U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, "Electoral Votes, 1964-1972," accessed June 21, 2016
    6. ↑ This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
    7. ↑ Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
    8. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
    9. ↑ CNN, "2016 Election Center," March 1, 2016
    10. ↑ The New York Times, “Election 2008: Alabama Primary Results,” accessed February 29, 2016
    11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Monmouth University, ”Monmouth University Poll,” February 29, 2016
    12. ↑ CNN, "Alabama Exit Polls," March 1, 2016
    13. ↑ CNN, "2016 Election Center," March 1, 2016
    14. ↑ CNN, "Alabama Exit Polls," March 1, 2016
    15. ↑ Alabama Democratic Party, "Qualified Presidential Candidates," accessed November 8, 2015
    16. ↑ Alabama Republican Party, "President," accessed November 8, 2015
    17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
    18. ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
    19. ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
    20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
    21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
    22. ↑ Although he was not on the ballot, Harry F. Byrd (D) won six unpledged electoral votes in Alabama's 1960 election against Richard Nixon (R) and Democratic Party nominee John F. Kennedy. Kennedy won Alabama's popular vote and received five electoral votes.
    23. ↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
    24. ↑ American Independent Party
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    Insiders Poll: First Democratic debate (October 13, 2015) • Presidential Nominating Index: Clinton remains choice of Democratic Insiders • Presidential Nominating Index: Bush remains choice of Republican Insiders • Insiders Poll: Winners and losers from the Fox News Republican Debate


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