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Latinos in the 2016 Election: Alabama

This profile provides key demographic information on Latino eligible voters1 and other major groups of eligible voters in Alabama.2 All demographic data are based on Pew Research Center tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey.3

Alabama Voter Registration Statistics

Registered Voters in Alabama, by Race and Ethnicity, 2015

According to the Alabama Secretary of State Elections Division, voter registration statistics as of September 2016 show that about 26,000 Latinos are registered to vote statewide. Overall, Latinos make up 0.8% of the state’s 3 million registered voters. The majority of voters in Alabama are white—there are 2.3 million white registered voters, representing 70.1% of all registered voters in Alabama. Additionally, about a quarter of registered voters in Alabama are black (26.8%), with about 871,000 statewide. Asians represent a slightly smaller share of registered voters than Hispanics, with 19,000 registered statewide (0.6% of all registered voters in Alabama).

The numbers and shares of Hispanics and other minorities among registered voters in Alabama have grown slightly since the presidential election in November 2008. There are about 14,000 more Hispanic registered voters today, and their share has risen from 0.4% of all registered voters in the state to 0.8%. In 2008, whites made up 71.8% of registered voters in the state, slightly larger than their share today (70.1%).

Hispanics in Alabama’s Eligible Voter Population

  • Population and Electorate in the United States and Alabama, 2014

    The Hispanic population in Alabama ranks 34th in the nation. About 190,000 Hispanics reside in Alabama, 0.3% of all Hispanics in the United States.

  • Alabama’s population is 4% Hispanic, ranking 40th in Hispanic statewide population share nationally.
  • There are 67,000 Hispanic eligible voters in Alabama – ranking 37th in Hispanic statewide eligible voter population nationally. California ranks first with 6.9 million.
  • Some 2% of Alabama eligible voters are Hispanic, ranking 46th in Hispanic statewide eligible voter share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 40%.
  • Some 35% of Hispanics in Alabama are eligible to vote, ranking Alabama 44th nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote. By contrast, 79% of the state’s white population is eligible to vote.
Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Alabama and the United States, 2014
Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Alabama, by Race and Ethnicity, 2014
  1. Eligible voters are defined as U.S. citizens ages 18 and older. Eligible voters are not the same as registered voters. To cast a vote, in all states except North Dakota, an eligible voter must first register to vote.↩
  2. The terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are used interchangeably. References to other races and ethnicities are to the non-Hispanic components of those populations.↩
  3. This statistical profile of eligible voters is based on the Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is the largest household survey in the United States, with a sample of about 3 million addresses. The data used for this statistical profile come from the 2014 ACS Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), representing a 1% sample of the U.S. population. Like any survey, estimates from the ACS are subject to sampling error and (potentially) measurement error. More information is available on ACS sampling strategy and associated error.↩