MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Republican Party was notified late this afternoon that ballots at two polling locations in House Districts 77 and 78 have been “severely mishandled,” which the ALGOP says “resulted in voters having not been given the correct ballot” in those two districts.
The two voting locations in question are Beulah Baptist Church and Newtown Church of Christ. These locations have split boxes; meaning that some voters should have been given a ballot for House District 77 and others for House District 78.
House District 77 features former Republican Representative David Grimes against Democratic incumbent Representative John Knight. House District 78 is between Republican Tijuanna Adentunji and Democrat incumbent Representative Alvin Holmes.
Neither of the races were expected to be particularly close, as the districts lean heavily Democratic, but ALGOP Chairman Bill Armistead on Tuesday evening lashed out at Montgomery Probate Judge Steven Reed for not responding to the state party’s attempts to contact him about the reported issues.
The actions of Montgomery Probate Judge Steven Reed and the poll workers at these two polling locations are appalling. Voters at two of the largest polling locations in the district were denied their right to vote due to incompetence. These Democrat and Republican candidates alike have worked for many months to get to today, only to see their hard work result in a travesty. And, voters were denied the right to vote for the candidate of their choice. The events at these two polling locations were completely un-American. The election officials of Alabama should work to promote and protect the integrity of the election process, not let it fall to ruin.
Voters at both of these Montgomery locations should have been given the proper ballot by the poll workers based on their address. The voter rolls are clearly marked indicating which district they live in, so there should have been no excuse for voters to receive the incorrect ballot. Instead, poll workers handed out ballots for District 77 to every voter, and when they ran out of these ballots, they then began handing out ballots for District 78. This kind of error made by poll officials is inexcusable.
The Alabama Republican Party will open an investigation into this alarming situation and will take whatever actions necessary to see that every vote counts. One possible action is for the Party to file an election contest with the Circuit Clerk’s office in Montgomery County and ask for a special election. A special election will be an uncalled for expense to the state, but we cannot afford to deny voters their right to vote for the candidate of their choice.
A call to the Montgomery Probate Judge’s office was not immediately returned.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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