Phenix City’s voter rolls are still a mess. Will the NAACP continue to pursue a clean up to get the illegitimate names removed?

UPDATE: Judge to DA, Attorney General: Investigate Phenix City Election Fraud Allegations

This article by Chuck Williams was published December 12, 2017 by the Ledger-Enquirer.

A Russell County Circuit Court judge has asked that the District Attorney’s Office and the Alabama Attorney General investigate potential voter fraud in a Phenix City municipal election, according to an order issued late Monday.

Vickey Carter Johnson, the top vote-getter in the Nov. 14 special election to fill the vacant District 2 council seat, filed suit in Circuit Court claiming that “illegal activity” occurred in the election. Johnson got 240 of votes cast to 225 for Baxley Oswalt and 26 for Steve Franklin.

Because Johnson did not get more than 50 percent of the votes, the election has been thrown into a Dec. 19 runoff between her and Oswalt. The ruling does not appear to impact the status of next week’s runoff election.

Since the election, Phenix City Police have investigated claims of wrongdoing and found that 80 registered District 2 voters were using business and not residential addresses, which is contrary to Alabama law that requires a voter to use his or her “domicile” when registering.

Read more.

‘We will not be bamboozled’: Phenix City NAACP calls for voter fraud state investigation

The Phenix City branch of the NAACP called again Monday for officials to investigate allegations of voter fraud, suppression and disenfranchisement.

The Rev. Alfonza Seldon, local branch first vice president, said some of the 82 voters who allegedly voted using a business address rather than their residence are government officials. He said voter fraud is illegal and people should be held accountable.

“An indignity has been levied against the citizens of District 2 as well as the candidates by those identified persons, some of whom have taken the oath of office to uphold the rule of law,” Seldon said at a news conference in front of the Russell County Courthouse. “They have caused an unfair and unjust election.”

Read more.

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UPDATE: Voter Rolls Still a Mess in Phenix City

Phenix City, AL—The Russell County attorney says no names have been removed from the voter list after a razor-thin city council election in which dozens of ineligible people cast votes. The local chapter of the NAACP has called for an investigation into vote fraud, and a runoff election is slated on December 19, 2017.

UPDATE: Phenix City Police: Voters’ Use of Business Addresses May Have Been No Accident

In a contested city election in which the local chapter of the NAACP is calling for an investigation into vote fraud, the police chief of Phenix City, Alabama said that at least 86 people voted using their business addresses instead of their residential addresses, including 15 who registered weeks or months before the election. He said this may have been a deliberate attempt to influence the outcome.

Meanwhile, the Alabama Secretary of State said that officials don’t check whether addresses given by voters are for residences or businesses.

Phenix City NAACP Calls for Investigation Into Voter Fraud

The American Civil Rights Union applauds the Rev. Alfonza Seldon, spokesman for the Phenix City-Russell County NAACP, for joining our call for clean voter registration rolls to protect Americans’ voting rights.

No election outcome—federal, state or local—should be tainted due to the failure of local election officials to keep their voter rolls accurate and up-to-date. The growing contention over the District 2 City Council election shines a light on a problem that exists in far too many American towns and cities today.