Shortleaf leans slightly Democratic by roughly 10 points: about 55% of voters vote Democratic and 45% Republican.
About 78% of adults in Shortleaf typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Shortleaf, ~43% vote Democratic, ~35% Republican, and ~22% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Shortleaf compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Shortleaf leans more Democratic than 12 of 35 neighbors.
Shortleaf runs about 41 points more Democratic than Alabama as a whole. Alabama leans Republican overall, while Shortleaf is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Shortleaf. The northwest side runs the most Democratic (D+34) and the southeast side runs the most Republican (R+13), a spread of about 47 points.
Why Shortleaf leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Shortleaf, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural, majority-Black areas of the Southern Black Belt vote Democratic, against the usual rural pattern. About 53% of residents in Shortleaf are Black or African American, about 29 points above the Alabama average of 24%. Shortleaf runs against the grain of Alabama, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Shortleaf, AL sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Shortleaf looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Shortleaf is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 57%, below 70% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Demopolis, AL D+13
- McDowell, AL R+33
- Jefferson, AL R+14
- Old Spring Hill, AL R+36
- Gallion, AL R+10
- Woodford, AL D+17
- Prairieville, AL R+14
- Belmont, AL D+54
- Forkland, AL D+49
- Providence, AL R+19
Cities with Similar Populations
- Mc Intosh, ND R+15
- Meigs, OH R+61
- Bear Mountain, NY R+13
- Three Forks, AR R+23
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Alabama Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.