Vote 2006: Ballot bungle
By Wade KwonIt’s every voter’s headache and every candidate’s nightmare: ballot problems.
At Fire Station No. 12 in Birmingham, it’s a reality. A ballot mix-up could cause potential problems for state senate candidates in today’s Alabama primary election.
At 11:30 today, I went to my polling place, Fire Station No. 12 in Woodlawn. Picking up a ballot for the Democratic primary, I discovered a problem after starting to fill it out: The wrong state senate race was listed. The candidates Linda Coleman, Sundra Escott and Rodney Huntley were for Senate District 20.
The sample ballot on the wall also showed the info for Senate District 20.
My house is in Senate District 18, so the candidates should have been Fred Horn and Rodger Smitherman.
The primary ballot with District 20 candidates (left) is the wrong ballot for some voters, such as myself; the primary ballot with District 18 candidates is the one some voters should’ve received, but were denied.
I let one of the poll workers know, who notified both the poll watcher and the precinct captain. The captain phoned for assistance, checking my ballot for the correct number, 59. (The number appears nowhere on the ballot.) However, all the ballots, still in the tear-off pad, on the tables were the same, all for District 20.
According to the person on the phone, the ballot I received was No. 60, as seen on cardboard boxes containing blank ballots. The captain found another box of blank ballots marked No. 59, took my ballot and placed in an envelope marked “spoiled ballots” and provided me with the correct ballot.
The ballots are virtually identical, save for the one senate race among a dozen races.
My state voter registration ID card shows polling place and districts.
The captain instructed the poll workers that because Fire Station No. 12 serves voters for two districts, they must check the voters’ names in the register for either 59 or 60 for the correct ballot if they vote in the Democratic primary. (The Republican primary has only one candidate each in Senate Districts 18 and 20.)
The poll worker mentioned that several voters had already pointed out the same mistake earlier that morning, even indicating the correct district on their voter registration cards. Their complaints were not investigated, and so an unknown number of voters marked ballots for the wrong district and were unable to vote for a candidate in their correct district. Poll workers made no effort to double-check the list of those citizens who had already voted and whether they had received the correct ballot.
After completing my ballot, I requested a complaint/evaluation form. The secretary of state’s site doesn’t provide the form, but I have provided one in the popular PDF format (16MB) and JPG formats, page 1 and page 2 (5 MB each).
I’ll fill it out and mail it, but by that point, it may be too late. (I encountered a similar ballot mix-up during a previous election at a Homewood precinct.)
If you suspect ballot problems:
- Verify your correct senate and house districts online by ZIP code.
- Notify a poll worker immediately.
- Obtain a complaint/evaluation form (or download a copy as shown above). Print it, fill it out, copy and mail it.
- Notify the secretary of state and the attorney general.
- And notify the probate court for Jefferson County (325-5203) and Shelby County (669-3713).
Polls close at 7 tonight.
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Let us know about any voting problems at your precinct by contacting us directly or leaving a comment below.
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Vote 2006: more coverage of Alabama’s elections
Tuesday, June 6, 2006, 6:55 pm
Wade, that’s terrible! It’s a good thing you were aware and determined enough to point out the problem and insist on a solution. I think my problem had more to do with the gentleman mis-hearing what I said; yours sounds like willful stupidity and/or bad training.
Wednesday, June 7, 2006, 12:48 pm
Kathy is referring to her amusing ballot snafu in the wilds of Vestavia Hills. Check it out.