Resources for July 15 Primary Runoff Elections

Alabamians will have another opportunity to head to polls tomorrow Tuesday, July 15. Light turnout is expected, but there are several state Senate and House primary contests that need to be decided. Locally, voters must choose between two GOP candidates running for the U.S. House Sixth District seat, which will be vacated by Rep. Spencer Bachus next year.

Alabama Votes website

Voters have a variety of tools for researching candidates, as well as easy-to-use online tools to check registration status and polling places. Alabama Votes, which is a service of the office of Secretary of State provides a registration lookup form, as well as a polling place search. These tools are especially helpful for verifying your state House and Senate district. Also available at this site is detailed information on recently-enacted voter ID laws. (While most voters will show their driver's license at the poll, you may be interested to know that your UMID is a valid form of identification for Montevallo students and employees.)

Other Useful Sites for Voters:

Sponsored by the nonpartisan Lucy Burns Institute, Ballotpedia has detailed coverage of elections at all levels. The site has an impressive and detailed entry on the so-called Cotton Amendment, which is the only ballot initiative that will appear across the state on this Election Day.

Project Vote Smart is an excellent site for researching candidates and elected officials. The site includes candidates' voting records, biographical data, issue positions, campaign finance records, and more. Voters in our state may be interested in a page dedicated to tomorrow's legislative primary runoff elections.

Vote411

Lastly, Vote411 is a vital resource for information on state election laws. A project of the League of Women Voters Education Fund, the site also contains an online voters' guide with a ballot building tool.

Be sure to head to the polls tomorrow and make your voice heard!

2010 Primary Election Info at AlabamaVotes.gov

Today marks the date of Alabama's statewide primary election. Complete information on today's elections can be found at AlabamaVotes.gov. This website has a number of tools to assist voters. Among the things one can do at AlabamaVotes:

• Find your polling place
• Check your registration status - - make sure you're already registered to vote!
• Study a sample ballot for your county
  
• Download a mail-in voter registration form
• Obtain information on military and overseas voting

In May, we posted some of the important dates for Alabama's 2010 elections. If you're unable to vote today you may still participate in November's general election. Remember that state law requires voters to register ten days before a voting day.

Polls opened at 7:00 a.m. today and will be open until 7:00 p.m. across the state. Be sure to get out to the polls and exercise your right to vote!

Information on 2010 Primary Elections

The Shelby County Reporter has produced an 2010 Election Guide that is included with this week's newspaper. The so-called "mid-term" elections are important: all seven of Alabama's U.S. House seats are on the ballot, as well as a U.S. Senate seat. Alabama will choose its next governor in 2010 and citizens will evaluate dozens of candidates vying for statewide office. In addition to a list of all of the candidates on the June ballot the Guide contains other helpful information for voters, including this list of important dates:

• Friday, May 21 - Last day to register to vote in primary
• Tuesday, June 1 - Primary election
• Tuesday, July 13 - Primary runoff election
• Friday, October 22 - Last day to register to vote for general election
• Tuesday, November 2 - General election

In addition to the above dates, you'll want to be aware of deadlines for applying for and postmarking absentee ballots. To get a copy of the voter registration form or to get the answers to questions about elections you may visit AlabamaVotes.gov, the state of Alabama's official online election center.

Spencer Bachus on YouTube

Last month, I blogged about new web pages on YouTube, where citizens can go to get video of their elected officials at work in Washington, D.C. For the last two weeks, Spencer Bachus, Alabama's House Representative from the Sixth District, has been sharing video on his YouTube page.

Congressman Bachus represents the region that includes the University of Montevallo, and he is the Ranking Member on the House Committee on Financial Services. Over a half dozen clips of the Congressman at work are now available. The video includes speeches from the House floor and interviews in committee hearings. Also on his video page are several interviews for television.

Welcome to Congress, YouTube

The leaders of the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives have announced that Congress is now in session, on YouTube. You can now find a number of Representatives and Senators' YouTube channels on two new platforms: youtube.com/senatehub and youtube.com/househub.

These pages feature a clickable map at the top of the screen that makes finding your lawmakers easy. At this point, the only member of the Alabama delegation sharing video is Fourth District Representative Robert Aderholt, but more are sure to follow in the coming weeks.

Check out this video from House and Senate leaders about this new service:



House Minority Leader John Boehner points out that some lawmakers have been using sites like YouTube for some time now. There can be little doubt that video and other social media had a huge impact on the recent presidential election. It will be interesting to see how voters use this these technologies to stay informed about their government.

Voter Registration Deadline This Friday, October 24th

Alabama voters have until this Friday, October 24th, to register for the November 4th general election. If you're a UM student remember that you have the right to vote in Montevallo even if your permanent address is different than your current address (although you may need to update your registration.) To check your registration status use the Alabama Secretary of State's Alabama Votes website. To find registrars for other states, or to pick up a registration form, visit us here in the library.

The Alabama Votes website also has sample ballots, information on absentee ballots, and a number of other resources for voters. You can also reach the Secretary of State's Elections Division toll free at (800) 274-8683.

Municipal Run-off Elections, October 7th

If you're not already on the voting rolls, tomorrow is the deadline to register for the October 7th Municipal Run-off Elections. As a result of the votes that took place in August, several area towns and cities will hold run-offs for some offices. Voters in the cities of Montevallo, Pelham, and Columbiana will chose mayors on this Election Day.

For information on the run-offs in your area, check with your county's Board of Registrars. Links to a couple of Boards' websites are below. One nice feature on the Shelby County Board of Registrars' site is the ability to check your registration status and polling place online. Again, be sure to sure to verify your polling place with city or government officials to avoid confusion on Election Day.

Coming up soon in our Alabama Votes series: The deadline for the fall general election will soon be here!

• Jefferson County Board of Registrars
• Shelby County Board of Registrars
• Other Alabama counties can be found at the Alabama Secretary of State website
  

Electing a US President in Plain English

I saw this piece on a friend's blog recently and I knew I'd found the library's latest Alabama Votes post. The Common Craft Show is devoted to making "complex ideas easy to understand using short and simple videos." Lee and Sachi LeFever usually take on highly technical topics, such as social bookmarking, Twitter, and RSS, but this time they've turned their attention to national politics and the electoral college.



We'll be returning next week with our Alabama Votes series. Stay tuned for a post about the runoff municipal elections taking place in October.

Muncipal Elections, August 26th

Another voting day is rapidly approaching and will be here a week from tomorrow, August 26^th. Elections for city offices, including mayors and city and town council representatives, will take place on that Tuesday across Shelby County.

Montevallo residents may be interested in another candidate forum, which will take place this Wednesday the 20^th at Eclipse Coffee and Books on Main Street. All candidates appearing on the Montevallo ballot have been invited to participate in this moderated session. Meeting organizers will allow questions from citizens. The forum begins at 7:00 p.m.

Municipal Election Forums

If you're a Shelby County resident you may be interested in a series of upcoming forums taking place next month. The forums, sponsored by the Shelby County Reporter and the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, will take Monday, August 11th through Wednesday, August 19th in cities and towns across the county that have a contested mayoral race. All candidates who have qualified in the municipal election have been invited to the forums.

All of the candidate forums will begin at 6:30 p.m. Locations and dates are as follows:

• City of Alabaster @ Thompson H.S., August 11th, 2008
• City of Chelsea @ Chelsea H.S., August 11th, 2008
• Town of Wilton @ Montevallo H.S., August 11th, 2008
• City of Montevallo @ Montevallo H.S., August 12th, 2008
  
• City of Columbiana @ Shelby County H.S., August 12th, 2008
• City of Pelham @ Pelham H.S., August 12th, 2008
• Town of Vincent @ Vincent Middle-H.S., August 12th, 2008
• Town of Westover @ ServPro, August 18th, 2008
• City of Calera @ Calera H.S., August 19th, 2008
• Town of Wilsonville @ Wilsonville Town Hall, August 19th, 2008

On the Web:

• Municipal Election Forums promotional flyer
• Shelby County Reporter article written about the upcoming events

Montevallo Rocks the Vote

This news comes from the Office of Student Life:

The University Program Council (UPC) will sponsor “Rock the Vote,” Tuesday, April 15, at 7 p.m., at the McChesney Student Activity Center.

“Rock the Vote” engages youth in the political process by incorporating the entertainment community and youth culture into its activities. It harnesses cutting-edge trends and pop culture to make political participation cool, and mobilizes young people to create positive social and political change in their lives and communities. The goal of “Rock the Vote” is to increase youth voter turnout, with the intention of ensuring that young people take advantage of their right to vote.

“Rock The Vote” will feature hosts Rachel and Shane from MTV's Real World/Road Rules cast. They will give a breakdown of each presidential candidate. In addition, there will be a question-and-answer period, and a meet-and-greet and autograph session with the hosts at the end of the program.

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate, let their voices be heard and obtain answers to questions they may have about the candidates and the political process.

Questions about the event? Contact Melvin Milton, UPC Coordinator, at Ext. 6565, or via e-mail at upcmontevallo@yahoo.com.

If you still have doubts that your vote counts, consider this: Rock the Vote has reported that the under-30 vote has quadrupled in Tennessee and tripled in Georgia when compared to the year 2000.

Remember that you can always pick up your voter registration form at the Ask Here desk if you haven't already registered for the November elections. Not sure if you're ready for the fall? Any questions about your registration can be answered by your county's Board of Registrars. A complete list is also available here at the library.

Also on the Web:

• Carmichael Library's previous Alabama Votes 2008 posts
• Black Youth Vote - from the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
  
• Rock the Vote | Blog

Election 2008 Resources

The Presidential candidates have their own sites of course. Check out these two sites that claim to keep the politicians honest by checking the facts.

FactCheck is a good one. The site is from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. FactCheck accepts no funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.

Politifact is from the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly, a trusted name in the information world. I like their Truth-O-Meter. Pictures make it so much easier.

Alabamians Head to the Polls, February 5th

In exactly four weeks, Alabama will join over 20 other states in conducting its primary elections. In addition to the presidential contest, there are several statewide offices on the ballot.

If you're not already registered to vote, there's still time! In Alabama, voter registration is closed for the ten days before an election, so you still have a couple of weeks to get on the rolls for the February 5^th vote.

To download a registration form or to get more information on the upcoming election, check out the Alabama Secretary of State's Elections Division. You can also pick up your registration form at the library's circulation desk. To complete your application, mail or hand-deliver the form to your county Board of Registrars office.

Photo credit: I Voted sticker taken by Daniel Morrison. Creative Commons license.
Image credit: Sidebar Vote button. Creative Commons license.