Municipal special election looms in town of Fort Deposit

From the West Alabama Newsroom–

The municipal election is not quite over in one Lowndes County town.

Voters in Fort Deposit could be headed back to the polls in January for a special election.

The results of the mayor’s race — and the District 2 town council race were thrown out — after a judge ruled that hundreds of absentee ballots cast in the election were illegal.

Now voters will have to head back to the polls for a special election — to chose a mayor — and a member of the town council.

“You can not go on with a new election in my opinion, when you still have not done anything about the fraudulent that was done in the old election,” said Fort Deposit voter Irish Simmons.

Some voters are calling for oversight from the Secretary of State’s Office — to ensure for a fair and clean special election.

We reached out to the Secretary of State’s Office about the matter and received this statement:

The Secretary of State’s role in municipal election administration is limited to receiving and ensuring timeliness of FCPA filings. All other administrative responsibilities regarding municipal elections are handled at the municipal level. Further, the Secretary of State’s office generally lacks investigative/prosecutorial authority under Alabama law. The Secretary would refer any allegations of potential criminal misconduct to a law enforcement agency, as appropriate. If the Secretary of State’s office receives and refers a complaint involving alleged criminal misconduct to a law enforcement authority, it becomes an open investigation and would not be subject to public comment.