ALGOP Chairman John Wahl calls on changes to primary system after ‘crossover voting’ issues
“Crossover voting” has become a hot topic of conversation among Republican leaders. Since 2010, crossover voting has not been allowed in primary runoff elections in Alabama. However, voters in Alabama are not required to register with a party prior to voting, so there is no mechanism to prevent crossover voting from happening in Republican primary elections because Alabama has open primaries. After Mo Brooks accused Senate opponent Katie Britt of soliciting Democrat votes in last month’s primary, Jennifer Montrose, president of the West Alabama Republican Assembly, issued a resolution requesting the Republican Party Steering Committee conduct “a fully public hearing or meeting with notice to the public to consider the facts and potential sanctions against candidate Katie Britt.” Now Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl is also calling for changes in the way Alabama Republican primaries are handled. Yellowhammer News reported that Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl said the comments that Alabama Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry made were “concerning”. Perry commented on Twitter about how “helpful” Republican Senate candidate Katie Britt was in electing Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate in 2017. Wahl said it was a wake-up call for the Republicans on how Democrats were trying to influence the Republican primary process. Wahl argued on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program” that it was time for a closed primary system in Alabama. “I’ll tell you one thing — next legislative cycle, I’m going to encourage closing the primary,” he commented, “and having a registered party system where we know only registered Republicans will be voting in the Republican primary.” Wahl continued, “[W]e are seeing in Alabama a push from the Democrats to try and insert themselves into our primary and have influence in picking out nominees,” he said, “and I think it’s very inappropriate.” Wahl said changing the primary process would be a major focus for him next session. “I’d like to think that even in politics good common sense reasoning and a good argument, when you can explain it, can carry the day. For me this is one of my number one targets for the next legislative cycle,” he concluded.
Pressure grows for ALGOP response to Katie Britt’s alleged Democratic Party support
In a state like Alabama, the Republican Party rules supreme. Winning a primary is tantamount to winning an election because Republicans hold a supermajority in the state. “Crossover voting” during primaries allows Democratic voters to have a say in who will be the winner, given that the general election is often nothing more than a formality. Since 2010, crossover voting has not been allowed in primary runoff elections in Alabama. However, voters in Alabama are not required to register with a party prior to voting, so there is no mechanism to prevent crossover voting from happening in Republican primary elections because Alabama has open primaries. 1819 News reported that Mo Brooks has accused opponent Katie Britt of soliciting Democrat votes in last month’s primary. During a radio interview on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show,” Brooks stated, “No question. Katie Britt had an activist effort, kind of behind the scenes, to encourage Democrats to crossover and to pollute our Republican primary.” Brooks also argued that she would do the same in the June 21 runoff. “It will probably happen to some degree on June 21 when we have to runoff. That’s not right,” Brooks continued. “The Democrats should never be participating in Republican primaries and vice-versa. But we’ll see how Republicans across the state react to Katie Britt’s outreach program that is coming to greater and greater light. By outreach program, I’m talking about getting Democrats to tamper in our elections.” Brooks’s accusations seem valid to some Republican leaders after Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry posted on Twitter, describing Britt as “pretty awesome” and “super helpful” during the Doug Jones 2017 win over Roy Moore. Additionally, Democrat U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith stated he supported Britt. “She’s running a great campaign,” Griffith commented last year on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show.” “She’s got a lot of assets. I’ve got a Katie Britt sign in my front yard … because the Democrats cannot win in Alabama. We need good government. We’re going to have to vote for good people and start being Americans instead of Republican or Democrat, particularly in Alabama.” Michael Hoyt, the chairman of the Republican Party in Baldwin County, has called for closed primaries. During an interview on FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Hoyt stated, “Principally, I would be in favor of having a closed primary. I think the party and members of the party should choose who their nominees are. And that shouldn’t be people for Democrats, for Libertarians, or whatever coming over.” Hoyt also said he expected the ALGOP to look into the issue in the near future. “[I] support having a closed primary system, and I suspect that that’s something that will be addressed by the state party, perhaps even at the summer meeting this year, and certainly be taken up by the legislature,” Hoyt commented. “When you’re in an essentially one-party state, and they know the election is determined by the primary, you have to be careful of who is even running in those races, and we certainly don’t want Democrats coming in and voting in them. So, I agree with [that] 100%.” Jennifer Montrose, president of the West Alabama Republican Assembly, issued a resolution requesting the Republican Party Steering Committee conduct “a fully public hearing or meeting with notice to the public to consider the facts and potential sanctions against candidate Katie Britt.” Essentially, the resolution accuses Britt of supporting “a nominee of another political party,” an infraction that can “deny ballot access to a candidate for public office.” In February, the Alabama Republican Party’s candidate committee voted to remove three candidates from its primary ballot in state legislative races because of alleged affiliations with other parties. “[W]e take it extremely serious that we keep the Republican primary ballots pure,” ALGOP chair John Wahl stated. “And what I mean by that is we’re not going to let a Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton come in and run on the Republican ticket. It’s not going to happen. Sometimes it gets hard. It’s very hard to know who is a Republican and who is not a Republican. The candidate committee makes those decisions, and I chair that committee. I choose not to take a vote because I feel like it is important for the chairman dispense all the information to provide the body information they need to make the best decision.” During the Republican primaries, Britt led opponent Brooks by a 45%-to-29% margin in votes.
Officer convicted of murder still gets paid in Alabama
An Alabama police officer convicted of murder for shooting a suicidal man who was holding a gun to his own head has been taken off duty but will continue to be paid, the city of Huntsville said. Officer William Darby, who was initially placed on desk duty following the killing of Jeffrey Parker in 2018, can’t continue working as an officer because of the conviction and went on leave Monday, city spokeswoman Lucy DeButy told news outlets. “This is the normal process until formal proceedings under the City of Huntsville’s personnel policies and procedures are complete,” she said in a statement. Darby was freed on $100,000 bond soon after the verdict on Friday. While Mayor Tommy Battle, a Republican, and Police Chief Mark McMurray have disagreed publicly with the jurors’ decision, Alabama Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry criticized the city’s move to keep paying Darby. “He’s a convicted murderer. He shouldn’t get another day’s pay. Fire him. And the police chief,” Perry said in a statement. Darby shot Parker, 49, moments after joining two other officers who had responded to a 911 call from the man, who said he was armed and planned to kill himself. One of the officers, who has since left the force, testified that Parker was upset but talking with her and posed no immediate threat despite the gun he held to his head. Jurors rejected defense claims that the shooting was justified. A defense attorney said Darby will appeal. He could receive a sentence ranging from 20 years to life at hearing expected to be held in about six weeks, a prosecutor said. While a city review board cleared Darby of wrongdoing, a county grand jury indicted him in the shooting. The city had said it would pay as much as $125,000 toward his defense. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Record Democratic turnout not enough for Jones in Alabama
Alabama U.S. Sen. Doug Jones received more than 200,000 more votes this year than he did when he won the seat three years ago. But despite record Democratic turnout, it wasn’t nearly enough in the deeply red state as Republican former college football coach Tommy Tuberville racked up huge margins to handily defeat Jones and Democrats’ hopes of maintaining inroads in the Deep South state this year. Jones, who was considered the Senate’s most endangered Democrat, topped former President Barack Obama’s 2008 record for most votes for a Democratic candidate in Alabama, state Democratic Party Executive Director Wade Perry said. Yet huge GOP numbers pushed the incumbent down to just 40% of the overall vote. Tuberville made fealty to President Donald Trump the central pillar of his campaign and told voters at a campaign stop that, “God sent us and elected Donald Trump.” Boosted by GOP enthusiasm, straight-ticket voting, and fame from his coaching days at Auburn University, Tuberville won about 60% of ballots, running about two percentage points behind Trump in the state. “Alabama, welcome back to the Republican U.S. Senate,” Tuberville shouted after taking the stage to loud cheers at his election night party in downtown Montgomery. “I am going to fight like heck against Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi,” he said. “I will be guided by our shared values, conservative values and I will always vote with the majority of people in the state of Alabama.” Tuberville’s victory followed a campaign where Tuberville shunned most media outlets in favor of conservative talk radio and he declined to debate Jones. Jones, a former U.S. attorney best known for prosecuting Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing, became the first Alabama Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in a quarter-century when he won in 2017. His victory was aided by scandal after Republican Roy Moore, already a controversial figure in the state, faced allegations of sexual misconduct from decades earlier. Some Republicans in the state sat out that race or supported Jones. Republicans were eager to portray Jones’ 2017 win as an anomaly, and hammered at Jones over a handful of votes, including the Democrat’s decision to convict Trump during the impeachment trial. “He will be the perfect example in political science classes around this nation of how to lose a U.S. Senate seat with $15 million dollars because you ignored the will of the majority of the people. It will be a short class,” Alabama Republican Party Chairwoman Terry Lathan said of Jones. Jones, despite outspending Tuberville 4-1, lost by a wide margin. “There’s nothing else we could have done. It was a record Democratic turnout, exceeded only by a record Republican turnout,” Alabama Democratic Party Executive Director Wade Perry said Wednesday. “We’ve got two years to do a better job. We’ve got some work to do,” Perry said. “I’m proud of Alabama Democrats and very proud of our staff. We worked very hard and had a record turnout. It just wasn’t enough.” David Mowery, an Alabama-based political consultant, said “Republican DNA is hard-baked into the state” making it a difficult path for any Democrat, even a well-funded one. He said Alabama does not have the growing suburban populations that have helped turn some southern states into battlegrounds. “We’re a Republican state and the only thing that can change that is a big-league scandal and a known bad actor like Roy Moore,” Mowery said. Although he was denied a full term in the Senate, Jones said there was work to continue. “At the end of the day, my time in the Senate is going to be over, but our time is just beginning, our time to make our state so much better than what it has been, to make sure we continue the march of progress,” Jones said as he stood with his family on stage. Jones said he did not regret the votes, such as impeachment and opposing Trump’s Supreme Court nominee — which fueled conservative outrage against him — because he said those were votes he took on principle. Ahead of Tuesday, Jones had acknowledged he faced an uphill battle to keep the seat in a campaign that seemed as much about laying groundwork for the future. He helped install new leadership at the Alabama Democratic Party. The senator also lamented a political environment that has moved to partisan rancor and away from bipartisanship. “The Senate doesn’t have that kind of deliberative spirit anymore,” he said. “There’s a lot more friendliness and bipartisanship that goes on behind the scenes that folks don’t see, but it needs to be on the floor of the Senate, it needs to be in front of the cameras, it needs to be where people can see these great debates on policy, and on issues, and how you can find that common ground.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Long absentee lines draw vote suppression criticism
The final day of in-person absentee voting in Alabama brought long lines, accusations of voter suppression, and unsettled questions over the fate of some votes after a court fight temporarily altered ballot requirements. A record 259,000 Alabamians have voted by absentee ballot so far this election amid pandemic rules and a push for early voting, and the number is expected to grow as the final votes come in. That is nearly three times the state’s previous record for absentee voting. Voters in Tuscaloosa County have waited in excessively long lines, the Alabama Democratic Party said Thursday with one voter waiting five hours without getting in the courthouse and another had to leave before casting a ballot after waiting four hours in line. “No voter should have to wait in line for hours to exercise their rights. We should leverage every tool we have to make voting easier, not harder,” Wade Perry, executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party. A lawyer for Sen. Doug Jones campaign sent a letter Wednesday to Tuscaloosa Circuit Clerk Magaria Bobo saying the long lines equated to “suppressing the vote of qualified Alabama voters.” “This is evidence that your office is not competently managing its absentee election rules,” attorney Adam Plant wrote. “No voter should face such an undue burden on their fundamental right to vote during a pandemic.” Bobo could not immediately be reached for comment. But she told the Montgomery Advertiser that her office was working diligently to process the flood of absentee ballots. The letter also cited Facebook comments from Bobo family’s members, who were helping with absentee ballot processing, that called voters unappreciative, stupid and classless for complaining about the long wait times. She said that her family members had volunteered and that the posts had been taken down. Another outstanding question is the fate of absentee ballots that might have been caught up in a court battle over witness requirements. A federal judge in September said voters with health concerns could be exempt from absentee ballot witness and notary requirements because of the health risks of interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state appealed and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the ruling on Oct. 13. Before the order was blocked, election officials in Jefferson County had mailed out a waiver form for the notary and witness requirement with requested absentee ballots. Jefferson County officials said Monday that ballots returned with a waiver that were postmarked on or before Oct. 13 will be counted. The issue is with any ballots returned Oct. 14 or later. County officials said they are trying to contact voters who might have returned their absentee ballots with the waiver that is no longer valid. The county said it stopped mailing out waivers on Oct. 13 Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said voters who have concerns about whether their vote was properly filed should contact their local absentee voting office. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Lawmaker criticized for honoring Confederate, KKK figure
An Alabama lawmaker is facing sharp criticism, including a call to resign, for participating in a celebration marking the birthday of a Confederate general who was also an early Ku Klux Klan leader. Rep. Will Dismukes of Prattville on Sunday attended a gathering to remember Nathan Bedford Forrest and posted a photo from the event on his Facebook page. The photo showed Dismukes speaking in front of several Confederate flags. “Had a great time at Fort Dixie speaking and giving the invocation for Nathan Bedford Forrest annual birthday celebration. Always a great time and some sure enough good eating!!” the Republican state House member wrote in a post that is no longer visible on his public page. The post came on the same day that the state was honoring the late John Lewis, an Alabama native who served for decades in Congress and had a long record of fighting for civil rights. Lewis died July 17 at the age of 80. Dismukes – who is a chaplain of a chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans – later posted that it was not his intent to disrespect Lewis or glorify the Klan. The lawmaker was condemned by both Democrats and Republicans. Wade Perry, executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party, called on Dismukes to resign. “Will Dismukes has demonstrated yet again why he is unfit to hold public office. Americans don’t celebrate racists or traitors. Nathan Bedford Forrest was both. And a founder of the Klan. … It’s 2020 and it’s time for racial extremists like Will Dismukes to go away,” Perry said in a statement. The Republican House whip later tweeted a statement that, while not naming his Republican colleague, said he could not fathom celebrating a Klan leader. “I cannot fathom why anyone in 2020 celebrates the birthday of the 1st KKK Grand Wizard. And while the body of a civil rights icon beaten by the Klan lies at state Capitol being honored by GOP/Dem leaders from all over the state. This mentality does not rep my party or my faith,” Rep. Danny Garrett tweeted. Dismukes posted a lengthy statement Monday, saying, “my post was in no way glorifying the Klan or disrespecting the late Rep. John Lewis.” He said his regret was that it put a negative light on his legislative colleagues. “I am a transparent person. To the point that as a public official I lay it all there for the people to see for better or for worse at times. The post was in no way intended to seem as if I was glorifying the Klan or any party thereof. The very atrocities and actions they committed are a disgrace to our country,” Dismukes said. Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan called Dismukes explanation “shallow in understanding” about why it was offensive to many. “Rep. Dismukes offered no explanation for why he participated in a birthday celebration of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Additionally, I find his statement to be shallow in understanding why his activities are deeply offensive to so many Alabamians. His constituents will be the final decision makers of his political future,” Lathan said. “It is one thing to honor one’s Southern heritage, however, it is completely another issue to specifically commemorate the leader of an organization with an indisputable history of unconscionable actions and atrocities toward African Americans,” Lathan said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
