Polls Are Closed Across the State
Polls across the state closed at 7 p.m. and the process of counting the votes will begin shortly in today’s election. Up for grabs are statewide races for the governor’s office all of the other top statewide races, along with seats in the Legislature and many judgeships and county offices. Voter turnout across the state was holding at about 25 percent with few problems reported, according to voting officials. That also held true for Jefferson County, where voter turnout is expected to fall somewhere between 25 percent and 28 percent, based on reports received from precincts. Barry Stephenson, chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Registrars, said precincts didn't experience a particularly heavier volume during late afternoon-early evening hours from people voting after work. Stephenson said calls to his office during the last hours of voting mainly covered questions about find their correct voting locations. Earlier in the day, the recent redrawing of Alabama’s legislative districts caused some confusion at the polls. Stephenson said he spent a chunk of his morning fielding calls from voters who didn’t realize their state House districts had been changed. “The state settled the lawsuit to redraw some of the State House districts and we implemented that in February,” said Stephenson, “It changed probably 30 to 40 percent of our voters’ districts, and they’re just now noticing.” Voters were mailed information about the change, but, still, when they arrived at the polls, they were prepared to vote in a different district. BirminghamWatch will be keeping up as the votes are counted throughout the evening. For BirminghamWatch’s guide to today’s election, including sample ballots, profiles of candidates, tools to find your polling place or report a problem, read the Voter Guide.
