I used to facetiously say Union Town, Ala., was my hero in terms of voter turnout, but it’s dropped to number two on my list.
While we, here in Escambia County, Ala., seem to stay away from the voting booth like we'll catch some disease, there are people in other areas that really know how to get a heavy voter turnout.
Last month, 12.62 percent of registered voters across the state of Alabama voted in the Republican runoff. That number dropped to 7.24 percent in Escambia County. Granted those numbers are a little misleading since those who voted in the Democratic Primary were not allowed to cast ballots.
But still, on a normal election cycle, like the one we will see in November, we seem to get excited when we have a voter turnout of more than 50 percent.
I thought Union Town had set the bar high back during its 2002 municipal elections when it had a 125 percent voter turnout. But the bar has been raised.
I read this week that the Mud Creek precinct in Habersham County, Ga., had a new record with a 243 percent voter turnout in May where 670 ballots were cast in a box that had 276 registered voters.
I don't know if the Russians flocked to Mud Creek to cast ballots or not, but there is apparently a lot of finger pointing going on in Habersham County.
Some blame it on faulty voting machines, others blame it on out-right voter fraud. Pick your medicine, but 'Houston, we have a problem'.
I learned that Habersham County has some outdated voting machines that don't have a paper ballot backup. I learned that Georgia is only one of four states in the United States that has voting machines that have no paper ballot back up.
I went to several sources to figure out what actually happened in Habersham County and it was hard to determine what was fact and what was fiction, but they all ended with the same conclusion that it was a mess.
I never could find out for sure whether a photo ID was required to cast a ballot so I'm not sure whether the high voter turnout occurred because dead people and out-of-district people were casting ballots in Mud Creek. I did hear from people I know and trust that the dead rose from the graves in Union Town in 2002 to cast ballots. Forty-five percent of the votes cast in Union Town were from absentee ballots. Go figure.
I've been through Union Town many times. If you drive through there on a Saturday heading to Bryant-Denny Stadium you will see barbecue vendors lining the streets and it's a good place to get some good ribs.
I don't have a clue where Mud Creek is, but I'll find out and maybe take a trip there one day.
I laugh when I hear stories like this coming out of Union Town and Mud Creek, but it's no laughing matter. In about three months we will be going to the polls to elect people to some very important positions from the governor of the state of Alabama to the sheriff and a county commissioner in Escambia County.
Thankfully, we in Alabama, require a photo ID to vote and have yet to have anyone convince me such a rule discriminates against anybody. I went into Flomaton Town Hall to vote in the primary and runoff. Wanda Vanlandingham, who I've known for years, asked me for my voter ID. I moved to the next step and Kay Wagner, who I've known for many years, asked me to show my voter ID. No problem. I may go there in November and leave my wallet in the truck and see if I can vote. My bet is no. I can hear Kay now 'take your butt outside and bring me your driver's license or you won't get a ballot'.
People die in other countries when they try to vote. People died for this country to give us the right to vote. Don't you think we should take every precaution necessary to make sure only registered voters cast ballots in all precincts?
I have to show my ID to write a check for groceries at Food Giant in Century or Greer's in Jay; so why not at the ballot box?
While I hope to live long enough to see a 90 percent voter turnout in Flomaton, Brewton, Atmore, East Brewton, Jay, Century and beyond, I want those votes to come from registered voters who care about our leadership.
