Alabama State Senator, District 5

Matt Woods won a June 24, 2025 special election for Senate District 5 and took office June 25, 2025, after serving in the Alabama House for District 13 from 2022 to 2025¹. He earned an associate degree from Bevill State Community College and a business degree from Auburn University, manages Jasper Auto Sales, and has served on the Alabama Community College System board¹². He is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot³.

Where they stand 14 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• School choiceYes, universal school choice for every familymedium

  Voted · medium confidence

  • Voted for HB129, the CHOOSE Act (roll call 131), which created education savings accounts of up to 7,000 dollars per student for private school and other education costs, open to all families starting in the 2027-28 school year (passed 69 to 34). (2024-02-27) source
• DEI programsBan DEI offices and required training at public institutionsmedium

  Voted · medium confidence

  • Voted for SB129 on final passage (roll call 222), which bars public universities, K-12 schools and state agencies from funding diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs (passed 75 to 28). (2024-03-07) source
• Election rulesStrict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsmedium

  Voted · medium confidence

  • Voted for SB1 on final passage (roll call 217), which made it a crime to be paid, or to pay someone, to help a voter fill out or deliver an absentee ballot application (passed 75 to 28). (2024-03-07) source
  • Voted for SB9 on third reading (roll call 495), which requires every electronic vote-counting system used in Alabama elections to use a paper ballot marked and checked by the voter (passed 78 to 27). (2023-05-02) source
  • Voted for HB209 on third reading (roll call 563), which would have barred distributing, collecting or delivering another person's absentee ballot or application in certain circumstances and paying for that help (passed 76 to 28). (2023-05-04) source
  • Voted for HB479 on third reading (roll call 933), which would remove the Electronic Registration Information Center as a source for finding voters whose addresses changed (passed 74 to 28). (2025-04-22) source
• Qualified immunityYes, and strengthen it by writing it into law and covering officers' legal costsmedium

  Voted · medium confidence

  • Voted for HB202, the Back the Blue Act (roll call 364), which gives law enforcement officers immunity from civil suits and criminal charges for conduct within their discretionary authority, with exceptions for reckless conduct and constitutional violations (passed 75 to 26). (2025-03-06) source
• Ranked-choice votingNo, ban ranked-choice voting in all electionsmedium

  Voted · medium confidence

  • Voted for SB186 on final passage (roll call 1092), which bans ranked-choice voting in Alabama elections (passed 74 to 28). (2024-05-02) source
• Religion in schoolsSupport laws requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms and optional prayer periodsmedium

  Voted · medium confidence

  • Voted for HB178 on final passage (roll call 886), which would have required the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public K-12 school common areas (passed 81 to 11; the bill later died in the Senate). (2025-04-17) source
  • Voted for SB99 on final passage (roll call 979), which requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in grade 5 through 12 classrooms and common areas when donated posters are available (passed 28 to 6). (2026-03-31) source
• China policyGet tougher: broad tariffs, state bans on land purchases, and forced app salesmedium

  Voted · medium confidence

  • Voted for HB379 on third reading (roll call 637), the House version that would have barred Chinese citizens, companies and government entities from acquiring real property in Alabama (passed 73 to 23); later voted for the narrower final version limited to the governments of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia (roll call 849, passed 80 to 18). (2023-05-09) source
• Mandatory minimumsAdd or lengthen them for serious crimes like fentanyl traffickingmedium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • Was listed as a cosponsor of HB1, which added mandatory prison terms for selling or possessing one gram or more of fentanyl and stiffer penalties for repeat offenses; it became law as Act 2023-4. (2023-03-07) source
• AbortionIllegal, except to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incestlow

  Said · low confidence

  • States on his campaign site that he is pro-life. (2025) source
• Policing and crimeNo single answer fitslow

  Said · low confidence

  • Says he will always defend law enforcement against those who want to defund the police and that first responders deserve respect and support. (2025) source
  • Voted for HB202, the Back the Blue Act (roll call 364), which gives law enforcement officers immunity from civil suits and criminal charges for conduct within their discretionary authority, with exceptions for reckless conduct and constitutional violations (passed 75 to 26). (2025-03-06) source
• Business regulationNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Says he will fight for less government and that government overreach can stifle growth and job creation. (2025) source
  • Voted for SB71 on final passage (roll call 229), which bars state agencies from adopting environmental rules stricter than federal requirements (passed 27 to 7). (2026-02-03) source
• Curriculum and booksNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted for HB130 on final passage (roll call 734), which would have barred classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation through grade 12 and required staff to use pronouns matching a student's sex (passed 74 to 25; the bill later died in the Senate). (2024-04-23) source
• ImmigrationNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted for SB53 on final passage (roll call 1181), which created state crimes of concealing or smuggling a person in the country illegally and set a process for checking a detainee's immigration status (passed 80 to 18). (2025-05-06) source
• RedistrictingNo single answer fitslow

  Voted · low confidence

  • Voted for SB5 (roll call 5), the congressional district map the Legislature drew after a federal court ordered a redraw (passed 76 to 27). (2023-07-21) source

No public position found on: Safety net programs, Minimum wage, Healthcare, Guns, Energy and climate, Housing and growth, Judges, Politicians trading stocks, Marijuana, Gender care for minors, Term limits, Campaign finance, Electoral College, Death penalty, Drug prices, Childcare and pre-K, Paid leave, Student loans, AI regulation, Kids online, School vaccines, Nuclear power, E-Verify mandate, Transgender athletes.