HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- As Alabama assumes a rare spotlight moment in the party nomination race for president, take your time and be thorough when you vote in Tuesday's Republican primary.

The only elected office on the front of the ballot is for the Republican nomination for president vying for the state's 50 delegates. Otherwise, it's nothing but contests for presidential candidate delegates between largely anonymous people.

Bottom line: Don't forget to flip your ballot over to cast your vote for elected offices of Congress and county commissions as well as district and circuit judges, among other races.

"That's important because a person on the back side of the ballot has to go a good ways before they come to the offices," said Elbert Peters, a longtime GOP official from Huntsville and a member of the state Republican Party Executive Committee.

Peters said he has heard a lot of concern about confusion on the ballot; however, he said the key is to stick with your candidate.

GOP presidential candidates with delegates on the ballot are Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. Former candidates Michele Bachman, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry - who have suspended their campaigns since paying the $10,000 qualifying fee to appear on the ballot in Alabama - also are eligible to receive votes.

Once you cast your vote for a presidential candidate, vote only for your candidate's delegates. On the ballot, Gingrich has nine at-large delegate races, Paul has 16, Romney has 18 and Santorum has three.

The reason the number of delegate races vary so much between candidates, Peters said, is because delegates who are unopposed do not appear on the ballot.

Once you navigate through the at-large delegate races, which will take you almost halfway through the back of the ballot, then you face the delegate races for your Congressional district. In the Fifth District, which includes Madison County, you'll see one delegate race each for Gingrich and Romney, three races for Paul and none for Santorum.

In all, Alabama has 50 delegates up for grabs in the presidential race. According to guidelines set for the Republican primary, 26 of Alabama's 50 delegates come from at-large delegates across the state, while each of the state's seven Congressional districts has three delegates each for a total of 21. The final three delegates belong to the state's Republican National Committee.

To corral all 50 delegates, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes in the primary - which is not expected to happen with the four-way race. In the absence of a majority of the votes, the steering committee of the state Republican Executive Committee will cast a corresponding number of the at-large delegates to the candidates.

In the Congressional districts, assuming no candidate receives a majority, the candidate who receives the most votes will get two of the three delegates while the second-place candidate will get one delegate.

But for a candidate to receive any delegates, he must receive at least 20 percent of the vote.

Follow me on Twitter @paul_gattis or email me at paul.gattis@htimes.com.