Democrat Brett Jones beat Sheriff Kevin Turner with 52.9% in Madison County's unofficial count. All 4 amendments passed statewide, but the county voted no on Amendment 4.
Democrat Brett Jones defeated Sheriff Kevin Turner in Tuesday’s election. Jones took 52.93% of the Madison County vote to Turner’s 46.99%, a margin of 9,429 votes.
Democrats also won every other contested countywide race on the Madison County ballot: tax collector and three district judge seats.
All four statewide constitutional amendments passed. Madison County voters said no to one of them, Amendment 4, which requires public schools to broadcast the national anthem each week. It applies to Madison City Schools anyway.
Every figure here is from the Alabama Secretary of State’s unofficial election night results for Madison County, Limestone County and the state as a whole. Madison County reported all of its boxes by 10:22 p.m. Tuesday. The statewide figures are as posted at 11:16 a.m. Wednesday. None of the results are official until they are canvassed and certified.
Madison County’s own races
| Office | Winner | Votes | Runner-up | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheriff | Brett Jones (D), 52.93% | 84,068 | Kevin H. Turner (R), 46.99% | 74,639 |
| Tax collector | Jeff Taylor (D), 52.85% | 83,087 | Valerie D. Miles (R), 47.04% | 73,958 |
| District judge, Place 1 | Kimberly Kelley Rucker (D), 53.74% | 84,619 | Tim Douthit (R), 46.19% | 72,726 |
| District judge, Place 4 | Jason M. Jones (D), 53.76% | 84,554 | John R. Allen (R), 46.18% | 72,635 |
| District judge, Place 5 | Raven Beach (D), 53.49% | 83,917 | Jeanne Dowdle Rizzardi (R), 46.43% | 72,847 |
Three Republicans ran unopposed and won:
- Cliff Mann, tax assessor
- Tyler Berryhill, coroner
- Mark Craig, license director
Keith Trawick (R) beat E. Quinn Headen (D) for superintendent of Madison County Schools, 52.66% to 47.16%. That is the county school system. It does not run Madison City Schools, and its superintendent’s race was not on city ballots.
In all, 160,875 ballots were cast in Madison County. That is 47.70% of its 337,278 registered voters.
Madison County against the state
Madison County voted the other way from Alabama in the top races.
- Governor: Republican Tommy Tuberville won statewide with 51.79%, 872,561 votes to 806,253 for Democrat Doug Jones. In Madison County, Jones took 57.88%, 92,597 votes to 66,743.
- U.S. Senate: Republican Barry Moore won statewide with 54.69%. Democrat Everett Wess carried Madison County with 54.89%.
- 5th Congressional District: Republican Dale W. Strong won with 53.19% districtwide, 142,080 votes to 124,763 for Democrat Andrew Sneed. Sneed carried Madison County with 55.45%.
Limestone County, which takes in the west side of Madison, went Republican. Tuberville won 57.28% there.
The Legislature
Madison is split among several state House and Senate districts. These are the contested races on Madison County ballots, with the result across each whole district.
| District | Winner | Votes | Runner-up | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate 2 | Rudolph Valentino Drake (D), 55.88% | 34,585 | John Roberts (R), 43.84% | 27,130 |
| Senate 7 | Jared Sluss (D), 50.45% | 30,255 | Sam Givhan (R), 49.49% | 29,678 |
| House 4 | Parker Duncan Moore (R), 59.32% | 11,042 | Hanu Karlapalem (D), 40.57% | 7,552 |
| House 10 | Marilyn Lands (D), 60.11% | 12,296 | Aaron Thomas (R), 39.81% | 8,143 |
| House 20 | James Lomax (R), 56.82% | 13,406 | James Linderholm (D), 43.02% | 10,151 |
| House 21 | Rex Reynolds (R), 51.36% | 12,484 | Forrest Satterfield (D), 48.58% | 11,808 |
| House 25 | Allison T. Montgomery (D), 53.23% | 12,456 | Phillip K. Rigsby (R), 46.71% | 10,929 |
The closest were Senate 7, decided by 577 votes, and House 21, decided by 676. Both districts lie wholly in Madison County.
Republican Andy Whitt was unopposed in House District 6.
The amendments
| Amendment | Madison County yes | Alabama yes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: elections to fill a lieutenant governor vacancy | 63.87% | 65.41% | Passed |
| 2: county school system mergers | 51.49% | 50.92% | Passed |
| 3: Pledge of Allegiance and student-led prayer | 50.56% | 62.57% | Passed |
| 4: weekly national anthem in schools | 46.59% | 58.58% | Passed |
Amendment 3 carried Madison County by 1,684 votes, 75,939 to 74,255. Amendment 4 lost in the county, 69,842 yes to 80,065 no, but carried the state with 909,259 yes votes to 642,958.
Limestone County voted yes on all four, from 52.35% on Amendment 2 to 67.49% on Amendment 1.
The local questions both passed. Madison County approved its local amendment on privately owned sewer systems, 62.66% to 37.34%. Limestone County approved its local amendment on a senior property tax exemption, 87.27% to 12.73%. Our ballot guide explains what each amendment does.
What it means for you
- Schools: Amendments 3 and 4 apply to every local board of education, including Madison City Schools. The board will have to adopt policies for a daily Pledge of Allegiance and for student-led prayer, and have each school broadcast the first stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner at least once a week. Students can opt out of the pledge and the prayer. See our Madison schools page.
- Amendment 2 lets neighboring county school boards merge. As worded, it covers county systems, not city systems like Madison’s.
- West side homeowners 65 and older in Limestone County may be able to claim the new senior property tax exemption. The ballot did not spell out the conditions. Our property taxes page has the Limestone County Revenue Commission’s contacts.
- The sheriff’s office keeps running under Turner until Jones takes office.
- To see which House and Senate districts you are in, use the state’s My Info lookup. Our voting page has the rest.
These numbers can still change before certification. We will update this story when the county and state certify the results.
This story is factual and endorses no candidate or measure.
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