Primary questions: Officials say redistricting error impacted House, commission races

The ballot issue discovered last month, believed to have been corrected by the Etowah County Board of Registrars prior to Tuesday's primary, apparently was not corrected, or at least not completely corrected.

Voters in the areas where voting districts changed because of redistricting after the 2020 Census may have been given a ballot that had them voting in the wrong district for the two-state House of Representatives races, and the two Etowah County Commission races thought to have been decided Tuesday.

In a joint statement Wednesday, Secretary of State John Merrill and Etowah County Probate Judge/Election Manager Scott Hassell said it was discovered during the party primary vote Tuesday that the problem "had not been corrected and this negatively impacted both the candidates and the voters in House Districts 28 and 29," the statement reads.

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"At this point, it is unknown how many voters were directly affected," Merrill and Hassell said.

No voters were denied the right to vote, and it's not known how many might have voted in the wrong district. The discrepancy in voting districts has no effect on state races, from governor to the sheriff's race.

The next step in the election process comes at noon Tuesday when election results are to be certified.

Because this is a party primary vote, it is the parties who must decide whether to accept and certify the vote.

"It is ultimately up to the county and state party executive committees to certify the names of the prevailing candidates," the statement says.

Should candidates choose to file a contest of the election, that would have to be done after results are certified. The initial issue was discovered when District 28 candidate Mack Butler's sister went to vote absentee in April and was given a ballot without Butler's name on it. That led to the discovery that when new district lines were drawn, they were not drawn correctly.

According to Merrill and Hassell's statement, the voter in question contacted the Etowah County Probate Office and the Secretary of State's office, and the Board of Registrars was instructed to begin taking action to correct the problem and assign voters to their proper districts.

Registrars from other counties and employees of the Secretary of State's office offered advice and guidance as to how to make the needed corrections.

"The members of the Etowah County Board of Registrars are the only people authorized by Alabama law to make the changes," the statement said.

On primary election day, one of those who noticed a ballot issue was Steve Reagan. Reagan had qualified to run for the District 29 race but was told he couldn't because he didn't live in District 29 after the new lines were drawn. When he went to the polls Tuesday, imagine his surprise at being given a ballot that included the District 29 race.

He contacted election officials — and he wasn't the only one.

According to the statement, the Secretary of State's office continues to evaluate and assess the situation and will provide more information as it becomes available.

In the meantime, Hassell faced the task of informing candidates and party officials Wednesday afternoon about the problem, so that they can determine their next course of action.

Other news: Doug Sherrod reelected to Place 5 in Etowah County Board of Education race

More: Tim Ramsey defeats Overstreet in Etowah County Commission District 4 race

Unofficial results on Tuesday had Butler defeating incumbent Gil Isbell in House District 28, Mark Gidley and Jamie Grant locked in a too-close-to-call battle in House District 29 and incumbent Tim Ramsey defeating Jeff Overstreet in Etowah County Commission District 4 in the Republican primary; and incumbent Jeffery Washington defeating Carolyn Parker in the Democratic primary for Etowah County Commission District 5.

Incumbents won the two unaffected Republican races: Jonathon Horton over Leonard Kiser for sheriff and Doug Sherrod over Lucas Hallmark for Etowah County Board of Education Place 5.

Vote totals announced Wednesday can be viewed at www.gadsdentimes.com.

Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or donna.thornton@gadsdentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: How an Etowah County ballot issue is impacting primary elections