Some Voters Required to Verify Information at the Polls
An attempt to update the state’s voter rolls left some Alabama voters confused and angry at the polls in Tuesday’s US Senate primary. That was the race to fill the seat formerly held by Jeff Sessions.
Amy Wright has been voting in the same polling for the last 18 years. On Tuesday, she walked up to the poll worker at the Homewood public library, who looked up her name. “And she looked me up and she said, ‘You’re not on here.’ And I said, what?”
Turned out Wright and her husband had been moved to the inactive voter rolls. Wright had to fill out some paperwork before she was allowed to vote. “It’s a verification form,” she says. “You have to write down your name, address, previous address, driver’s license number. And a poll worker had to sign off on it. Wright says she’s voted in every election for years. And what happened Tuesday seemed suspicious. “You know, somebody could blame it on a computer glitch or whatever. But there is absolutely no reason my name would not have been on that list.”
Wright wasn’t the only one who was bumped to the inactive voter rolls. The same thing happened to Congressman Mo Brooks, who was a candidate in the Senate primary. Also, state Rep. Patricia Todd, and a federal judge in Montgomery.
Amy Wright says she has “absolutely zero” faith in Alabama’s voting system.
Merrill says from January to March, his office mailed every registered Alabama voter a postcard requesting information verification. He says that’s required by the National Voter Registration Act. “This is the first time in the history of the state that Alabama’s been fully compliant with the law,” he says.
He says problems stemmed from verification notices his office sent bouncing back to the post office. They’d end up at county election offices, and residents would be knocked off the active voter rolls. Merrill says his office has no plans to look into this any further, and that no one was denied the right to vote. It’s unclear how many of Alabama’s 3.3 million registered voters were affected. Turnout in Tuesday’s primary was just under 18 percent.
MAHA Commission report paints a dark picture of U.S. children’s health
The Health Secretary's report blames environmental toxins, ultraprocessed foods and more for the poor state of kids' health in the U.S.
Why ‘Sell America’ is trending on Wall Street
Investors are worried about the ongoing trade war — and rethinking the safety and soundness of U.S. government debt.
Trump administration revokes Harvard’s ability to enroll international students
International students make up more than a quarter of Harvard University's student body. Harvard says the government's actions, which could cut off a major revenue stream, are "unlawful."
Congress moves to loosen toxic air pollution rules
The House and Senate both voted to loosen regulations on air pollutants like dioxin and mercury, which are associated with higher cancer risk.
In Sean Combs trial, Kid Cudi testifies about threats and violence
The musician Scott Mescudi, who records as Kid Cudi, told the court that after Combs discovered his relationship with Cassie Ventura, his house was broken into and his car was set on fire.
Forecasters predict above-average hurricane season again
Forecasters expect 13 to 19 storms to form in the Atlantic between June 1 and the end of November. At least 6 of those are forecast to be full-blown hurricanes.