By Staff
You all probably know by now that it was a rather quiet qualification period for this year's municipal election, with Mayor Ted Jennings and Frank Cotten (District 2) elected unopposed.
This means that the candidates for Council Districts 1, 3, 4 and 5 will now be vying for their respective District votes. Although there will be no mayoral election, I urge everyone to come out and vote for their desired District representative, as not having a Mayor elected tends to flatten some of the District voting. The District 1 poll will be at the Brewton Community Center, 3 and 4 at the Middle School Media Center and 5 at the JDCC Museum Building.
As of this writing, there are 1,060 registered voters in District 1, 743 in District 2, 658 in District 3, 633 in District 4 and 636 in District 5. This is remarkable, since the data indicates 68% (3,730) of the 2000 Census population of Brewton (5,485) are registered voters. With no District 2 competition, the total drops to 2,987 and, assuming 60% of those come out to vote, only around 1,800 people may actually vote.
The lists are constantly changing as updates are received and I plan to get a short list from the Board of Registrars with the names those who registered from June 1 - August 12. Remember, persons may register and vote in this election up to ten (10) days prior to the election (August 14, 2004).
We should receive the election materials within the week, so those who will need an Absentee Ballot may come in for an application by the end of July. Those who apply for such a ballot are stricken from the regular Voters List; the ballots must be in the City Clerks office no later than 12 noon on election day (August 24, 2004). The ballots will be verified by the Poll Workers and run through the machine(s) by them.
Powers of Attorney are not a legal means of voting by Absentee Ballot. Applications may be picked up by anyone, but the voter has to submit the Absentee Ballot with its packet. As a side note, On Site Absentee Voting was abolished by Act 2001-1097.
Feel free to come by or call the City Clerk with any questions or comments about the Brewton Municipal Election at 809-1770.