Birmingham City Schools Returning Students to Classrooms, Though Many Families Still Prefer Virtual Learning
Birmingham city school students will return to in-person classes two days a week beginning Nov. 9. Read more.
Virginia Martin
Today is the Last Day to Register to Vote
Monday, Oct. 19, is the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election. You still may register to vote online through the Secretary of State’s Office. Go here to fill out the form online. You also can register at your county’s Board of Registrars and other locations. In Birmingham, you can register at the Board of Registrars Office in the downtown courthouse; the revenue or probate departments in the Bessemer courthouse; and at most libraries. You can find those locations listed on the registration locations link here. Read more.
Crowds Turn Out for Saturday Absentee Voting in Jefferson County
Hundreds of people lined up in Linn Park on Saturday to cast their absentee ballots in person. The Jefferson County Commission decided to open the courthouse for in-person absentee voting this Saturday and next because people have been waiting in line for up to three hours to vote during the week. The Alabama Poor People’s Campaign was among several groups manning tables in the park with absentee ballot applications for voters to fill out before they got in the official line to vote. Volunteers also could make a photo ID in case a voter did not have one, which is required before they cast their ballots. “At least one step will be done before getting inside the courthouse,” said the Rev. Carolyn Foster, one of the chairs of the state Poor People’s Campaign. Read more.
Recent Contributors to Jones and Tuberville
Following are contributions of $5,000 and up to U.S. Senate candidates Doug Jones and Tommy Tuberville, as listed in reports filed Thursday with the Federal Elections Commission for the period of July 1 through Sept. 30. Read more.
Jefferson County Commission Opens Courthouses for Saturday Absentee Voting
The courthouses in Birmingham and Bessemer will be open for in-person absentee voting the next two Saturdays, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24. The move comes in response to long lines and wait times to cast absentee ballots in person in recent weeks. Jefferson County Probate Judge James Naftel said that, as of Wednesday, the county was processing more than 25,000 absentee ballots and ballot applications. That’s compared to about 10,500 absentee ballots cast in the 2016 general election. Read more.
The Census Counting Is Done, but the Result Is Unknown
The counting has stopped, but nobody is releasing any tallies yet for the 2020 U.S. census in Alabama, and those final tallies hold the keys to federal funding and congressional redistricting. Spokespersons and Census Bureau websites tell us that “99.9%” of the households in the state have either self-responded or answered questions from a door-knocking census mop-up worker. But just try to find out what that 99.9% is 99.9% of. If you go to the state response section of the Census 2020 site, it gets even more confusing. Read more.
Alabama Adds 1,212 Coronavirus Cases in Friday’s Updates, 30 More Deaths
Another 1,212 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Alabama in Friday morning’s daily update, bringing the number of people who have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began to 170,374. Read more.
Jones Outpaces Tuberville 3-to-1 in Fundraising for Senate Campaign
Sen. Doug Jones, generally regarded as the most vulnerable member of the U.S. Senate in the November elections, is approaching Election Day with huge advantages over Republican challenger Tommy Tuberville in fundraising and spending. Reports filed Thursday with the Federal Elections Commission show the freshman Democrat raised about three times as much as Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach, and spent almost five times as much during the three-month period that ended Sept. 30. Read more. Recent Contributors to Jones and Tuberville
Jefferson County Election Officials Consider Offering Absentee Voting on a Weekend
WBHM Jefferson County may allow absentee voting on a Saturday later this month, but county Probate Judge James Naftel said any such move would first need to be authorized by county or state officials. Read more.
Birmingham Library Executive Director Suspended Without Pay
Birmingham Public Library Executive Director Floyd Council has been suspended without pay for one month by the library system’s board of trustees, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. The decision was made in a library board meeting Tuesday. As with all personnel decisions, the board held the discussion and took the vote to suspend Council during a private executive session. Details of the suspension, including the reasoning behind it, were not immediately made public. Deputy Director Janine Langston will take over as interim director. Read more.