Tuesday, August 26, is election day in the City of Andalusia.
All voting is in the Kiwanis Community Center, and polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
After the polls close, poll workers, led by Chief Inspector Jenny Pitts, have a specific process to complete to tally the votes. Mrs. Pitts will deliver the totals to City Administrator John Thompson, who will announce the results in City Hall Auditorium.
The public is welcome in City Hall for the announcement, which we expect will be made between 7:45 and 8 p.m.
The doors to City Hall will reopen at 7:30 p.m. for all who wish to hear the results announced. The results also will be posted to the City of Andalusia’s website and social media pages.
Mrs. Pitts will be assisted at the polls by Inspector Jenny Rogers and Assistant Inspector Debbie Posey. Machine operators are Billy Joe Stallworth and Pete Stone.
Other poll workers are Tyawanda Barnes, Judy Phillips, Mary Lynn Stone, Pat Carlton, Brenda Gouge, Shekila Williams, Judy Clark, Sharon McVay, Sammy Glover, and Gina French McVay. Alternates are Jimmy Jackson, Sonia Shaffer and Mae Renza Bryant.
Andalusia City Schools superintendent Dr. Daniel Shakespeare on Tuesday told the Andalusia City Council the investment it has made in education is paying off.
“Thank you for making education one of the top priorities, if not the top priority in Andalusia,” Shakespeare said.
He said one of his top goals as superintendent was to elevate Andalusia City Schools to one of the top systems in the state, then shared some recent milestones.
• Based on test scores, Andalusia City Schools is projected to have a 91/A on its state report card for the 2024-25 school year, the fourth year running for that achievement.
• In Niche’s best schools ratings, ACS was 13th of 141 in Best Places in Alabama to Teach.
• Niche rated ACS 13th among 138 systems as District with the Best Teachers in Alabama.
• Niche rated ACS 21st among 141 systems as Best School Districts in Alabama.
• ACS was the first Apple Distinguished School District in Alabama, recognized for “inspiring, imagining, and impacting teaching and learning through continuous innovation.”
He also shared his goals for the current academic year, which began earlier this month. Among the goals are increases in student achievement, and improvements in student behavior, culture and attendance.
One change that will help schools meet those goals, he said, is the implementation of Alabama’s new Focus Act, which does not allow cell phones during the school day. To comply with the law, the system issued Yondr pouches to each student in junior and high school. Students are required to close their devices inside the magnetic pouches at the start of every school day, and can only open them with magnets placed at the school exits.
Dr. Shakespeare appeared before the council in a workshop meeting in which he presented the system’s $4.6 million request for funding in the 2025-26 academic year. The funding comes from a special half-cent sales tax assessed for education. He asked the council to fund initiatives that support the use of technology in the classroom, including the lease for devises used in the classroom, and funding an education technology specialist, who helps teachers use the technology available to them.
In addition, he sought support for continuing art and music programs in the school; funds for the system’s bond payment on the recent renovations to the auditorium and stadium, and maintenance funds for those facilities.
Finally, he shared drawings of a planned $16.5 million addition to Andalusia Elementary School, and proposed using $3.5 million of the education funds available for that project.
The addition is needed, he said, because the addition of state-funded pre-school programs mean the school is out of space. The addition includes 16 classrooms, a gymnasium and eating area. In addition, eight of the 16 classrooms will be a “hardened,” FEMA-approved space to be used as a storm shelter. In the event of an emergency, it can hold 1,400 people, he said.
In other business, the council:
• Approved the transfer of an off-premise beer and wine license for Vinnys Stop And Go, located at 630 Dr. MLK Expressway.
• Approved the abatement of nuisance properties on Chestnut Street, Morrison Street, and Sixth Avenue. Photographs presented to the council showed problems with weeds, or the accumulation of junk and scrap.
Absentee voting opened Tuesday, July 29, for 2025 municipal elections. In the City of Andalusia, absentee voting is being managed on the third floor of Andalusia City Hall, 505 East Three Notch Street.
You may request an absentee ballot in person, or by mail.
If requesting in person, a voter should go to the third floor of City Hall and complete an absentee voting application. The voter must provide a photo ID, which will be copied and attached to the application.
The voter will be handed a ballot and a series of envelopes. The voter can complete the ballot at a privacy table. The ballot should then be placed in the secrecy envelope. The secrecy envelope is placed inside a second envelope, and the voter must complete an affidavit on the outside of that envelope. The affidavit must be notarized, or two people must witness the voter’s signature.
That envelope is placed inside a mailing envelope. The voter must then place the envelope inside the absentee voting box.
If requesting by mail, a voter should call City Hall at 334.222.3313 to request an application form, or download one from the Alabama Secretary of State’s website. The application must be returned with a copy of the voter’s photo identification to the Elections Manager at 505 East Three Notch Street, Andalusia, AL 36420.
A ballot will then be mailed to the voter, who will follow the same steps above for completing the ballot before mailing back to the Elections Manager at 505 East Three Notch Street, Andalusia, AL.
A person may cast an absentee ballot if he or she:
• Expects to be absent from the county on election day
• Is ill or has a physical disability that prevents a trip to the polling place
• Is physically incapacitated and will not be able to vote in person due to a disability.
• Is a registered Alabama voter living outside the county
• Expects to work a required shift, 10 hours or more, that coincides with polling hours.
• Is a caregiver for a family member to a second degree of kinship and the family member is confined to his or her home.
• Is currently incarcerated in prison or jail and has not been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude.
August 19, 2025, is the last day to request an absentee ballot.
Sample ballots are available here:
District 1
On Thursday, August 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., the City of Andalusia will test and certify the electronic voting tabulating machines for the Municipal Election, which will elect members to the Andalusia Mayor and City Council Districts One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. Testing will be done at the City Hall Building located at 505 East Three Notch Street, Andalusia, AL. All candidates and the general public are welcome to attend.
John M. Thompson, City Clerk – Treasurer
City of Andalusia, Alabama
The links below provide sample ballots for the 2026 Municipal Election in the City of Andalusia.
Polls will be open from 7 am. until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26.