Candidate to contest July 15th runoff results in Calhoun County

James Montgomery

A candidate for Calhoun County Commission said he plans on contesting the results of the July 15 primary runoff election, citing what he said was a lack of absentee ballots counted, as well as misinformation presented to voters by election officials.  James Montgomery lost to incumbent Fred Wilson for the Democratic nominee for the Calhoun County District 1 Commission seat by 159 votes. Montgomery said missing absentee ballots could have swung the election in his favor. He said Tuesday that after provisional ballots were counted for last week’s election, he will contest the results based on what he sees as misconduct by election officials, alleging that They made people afraid to vote.  Montgomery said his protest is specifically in regard to comments made by Calhoun County Board of Registrars member Carolyn Henderson about the number of absentee ballot applications received by her office prior to the election. Henderson said  she was concerned by the high volume of absentee requests, which numbered more than 400, and was much higher than she had ever seen for one district in a runoff election.  Only 207 absentee ballots ended up counted toward the District 1 Commission race. Henderson said not all of the residents who requested ballots returned them, and several were not counted due to not filling out the returned ballots properly.  Montgomery, claims thatt many ballots were likely not returned because Henderson suggested that his campaign strategy — which included collecting absentee votes in west Anniston —  was illegal and that it scared voters. The candidate said he did nothing unlawful, and told residents to only vote absentee if they fulfilled the requirements to do so under state law.
In Alabama, voters are allowed to cast an absentee ballot if they will be out of town during the election, are physically unable to make it to the polls, or work a 10-hour shift that coincides with the times the polls are open.
Under Alabama law, candidates wishing to contest the results of an election must do so within 24 hours of the canvassing board certifying the results. Provisional ballots in the District 1 Commission election were counted at noon on Tuesday, but were still awaiting the final certified vote.