Sumter County leans heavily Democratic by roughly 44 points: about 72% of voters vote Democratic and 28% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Sumter County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Sumter County, ~49% vote Democratic, ~19% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Sumter County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Sumter County leans more Democratic than 6 of 8 neighbors.
Sumter County runs about 74 points more Democratic than Alabama as a whole. Alabama leans Republican overall, while Sumter County is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Sumter County. The west side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+74) and the southwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+8), a spread of about 66 points.
Why Sumter County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Sumter County, 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 70% of residents in Sumter County are Black or African American, about 46 points above the Alabama average of 24%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 40% of adults in Sumter County have never been married, above 93% of counties. Sumter County runs against the grain of Alabama, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Sumter County, AL sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Sumter County looks the way it does
Turnout in Sumter County sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Greene County, AL D+53
- Kemper County, MS D+23
- Lauderdale County, MS R+5
- Marengo County, AL D+3
- Hale County, AL D+13
- Choctaw County, AL R+22
- Noxubee County, MS D+49
- Clarke County, MS R+26
- Pickens County, AL R+21
- Perry County, AL D+41
Counties with Similar Populations
- Stone County, AR R+63
- Grundy County, IA R+42
- Butler County, KY R+67
- Appanoose County, IA R+43
- Monroe County, WV R+63
- Colfax County, NM R+10
- Menard County, IL R+41
- Morgan County, UT R+63
- Sanders County, MT R+54
- Northampton County, VA Even
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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.