Former State Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) on Monday took to social media to apologize for not voting in Alabama’s Republican presidential primary in 2016.
Moore has made his early support for President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign cycle a major theme of his current GOP bid to represent Alabama’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
However, public voting records viewed by Yellowhammer News show that Moore did not vote for Trump — or anyone else — in the statewide primary election held March 1, 2016.
In a Facebook post, Moore shared that he did not remember missing out on primary voting in 2016 until it was recently “pointed out” to him and he subsequently did some digging into his own “social media and journals.”
Moore advised, “I [now] realize that the Alabama Legislature was in session that day. As a member of the legislature, I was in Montgomery. I’m sure I thought I would be able to leave Montgomery in time to get back and vote. I was wrong.”
“Records show that the session went long,” he continued. “I know now that I made the decision to stay in Montgomery and do my job for the people of district 91. As someone who is asking for people’s votes, it’s hard to admit that I missed one, but, it happens. I had to make a choice that day.”
“I hope I was able to make it up to President Trump by going to the Republican National Convention months later and casting my vote for him as a delegate from Alabama. I am indeed proud that even though I missed that important primary vote, I was still able to vote for President Trump twice that year! I have learned a valuable lesson. Looking back, I should have voted absentee that year since we were in session, just in case we ran long. Learn from my mistake and get an absentee ballot if you think you won’t make it to the polls. We need every vote. Together we can win. Thanks for your support!” Moore concluded.
At least two people pointed out in the comment section of Moore’s Facebook post that the Alabama House did not go into session until 2:00 p.m. on March 1, 2016; polls opened at 7:00 a.m.
Yellowhammer News confirmed the above via the legislature’s online public records system.
Additionally, those records showed that the House adjourned at 5:18 p.m. on March 1, 2016. Polls closed that evening at 7:00 p.m.
Enterprise is generally around 1.5 hours away from downtown Montgomery, not accounting for traffic abnormalities or individual driving habits.
A report of the House’s activity from March 1, 2016, is available here.
Responding to comments on his Monday Facebook post, Moore attempted to explain why he did not vote before the House went into session the afternoon of March 1, 2016.
“I don’t remember the entire day,” he wrote. “According to my social media I had a couple of school groups touring that week. I always went up early and met with any school groups from my district. We didn’t usually know what time we were gonna be in session until a few days in advance. The very reason I should have voted absentee.”
Moore will face Wiregrass businessman Jeff Coleman in the AL-02 Republican primary runoff on July 14.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
