Alabama Secretary of State election, 2026

	← 2022
Alabama Secretary of State
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: January 23, 2026
	Primary: May 19, 2026; Primary runoff: June 16, 2026; General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Alabama
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2026; Impact of term limits in 2026; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
Alabama; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Auditor; Agriculture Commissioner; Treasurer; Public Service Commission (2 seats); State Board of Education (4 seats);

Alabama 2026 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • How to run for office

Alabama is holding an election for secretary of state on November 3, 2026. The primary is May 19, 2026, and a primary runoff is June 16, 2026. The filing deadline was January 23, 2026.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list of candidates is unofficial. The filing deadline for this election has passed, and Ballotpedia is working to update this page with the official candidate list. This note will be removed once the official candidate list has been added.

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

The primary will occur on May 19, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Alabama Secretary of State

Wayne Rogers is running in the general election for Alabama Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Wayne Rogers (D)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Wayne Rogers advanced from the Democratic primary for Alabama Secretary of State.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State

Caroleene Dobson, Christian Horn, and Glenda Jackson are running in the Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		Caroleene Dobson
		Christian Horn
	Submit photo	Glenda Jackson

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Andrew Sorrell (R)

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Wayne Rogers

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography: "I am a native of Thomasville, a small town in southwest Alabama, but have lived in Birmingham for 45 years. I have practiced law in Alabama since 1988. Currently, I serve as Executive Assistant to Sheriff Mark Pettway, the first Black Sheriff in the history of Jefferson County. I joined the Sheriff’s Office in 2019. As a litigator, I appeared in court in 66 of Alabama’s 67 counties, representing Alabama based small businesses and individuals. Currently, I serve on the Boards of several mental health related entities, including the JBS Mental Health Authority. I also serve on the National Board for Crisis Intervention Teams International, the leading organization in the world for providing law enforcement with training in dealing with mental health and addiction crises. I have been married to Lauri Sutton Rogers for 38 years. We have 3 grown children, 3 wonderful daughters in law and 3 grandchildren."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Alabama needs to end straight ticket voting. As one of only six states that allows straight ticket voting, Alabama has a system that puts Party above individual candidates, depriving many excellent candidates of an opportunity to win elections. In 2024, some 67.7% of all Alabama voters cast straight party ballots.

Alabama needs to adopt Early Voting. As one of only three states that does not allow early voting, Alabama continues a long tradition of making it hard to vote. We ought to provide more, not fewer, chances for our citizens to vote.

Alabama should allow absentee voters an opportunity to cure defective ballots. I have worked elections from the inside and seen how many mailed in absentee ballots are disqualified, without any opportunity for correction of errors on the part of the voter. In fact, Alabama does not even notify those voters of the defect, but simply disallows those votes, thus disenfranchising voters who do not get everything perfect on their mailed in ballot.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Wayne Rogers (D)

Alabama needs to end straight ticket voting. As one of only six states that allows straight ticket voting, Alabama has a system that puts Party above individual candidates, depriving many excellent candidates of an opportunity to win elections. In 2024, some 67.7% of all Alabama voters cast straight party ballots.

Alabama needs to adopt Early Voting. As one of only three states that does not allow early voting, Alabama continues a long tradition of making it hard to vote. We ought to provide more, not fewer, chances for our citizens to vote.

Alabama should allow absentee voters an opportunity to cure defective ballots. I have worked elections from the inside and seen how many mailed in absentee ballots are disqualified, without any opportunity for correction of errors on the part of the voter. In fact, Alabama does not even notify those voters of the defect, but simply disallows those votes, thus disenfranchising voters who do not get everything perfect on their mailed in ballot.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Wayne Rogers (D)

Voting Rights for ALL citizens!

Mental Health and Addiction treatment.

Improvements in our Prison System.

Fair and equitable treatment of all citizens, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, national origin or ability.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Alabama

Election information in Alabama: May 19, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

In-person: May 4, 2026
By mail: Postmarked by May 4, 2026
Online: May 4, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: May 14, 2026
By mail: Received by May 12, 2026
Online: N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: May 18, 2026
By mail: Received by May 19, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

No

What were the early voting start and end dates?

N/A to N/A

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (ET/CT)

Campaign finance

The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.

Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.