In addition, the suit cited a section in the State Code as well as Section 8.06 of the Mayor Council Act, which prohibits a council member from working for a utility while in office. ...

Abbott called criticism about her employment misguided. Although she works at AT&T, she officially works for BellSouth Affiliate Services Corp., a spin-off company from the utility that does not provide phone service or is a regulated utility. In his ruling, Judge William Noble agreed with Abbott's defense . -- Read the whole story --> Jefferson County judge tosses suit arguing Birmingham Councilwoman Valerie Abbott serves illegally | al.com

Democrat Joe Hubbard is challenging Republican state Rep. David Grimes for the Dis­trict 73 seat.

Hubbard has voiced his con­cerns that the question asking if people would be more or less likely to support him if they knew "Joe Hubbard is a lawyer who has sued local businesses and has defended many corrupt Montgomery politicians."

Hubbard said he has never represented Montgomery pub­lic officials or sued local busi­nesses. He considers it a push poll -- a type of poll that, instead of being done to obtain opinions, asks loaded and unfounded questions that contain negative information about a candidate in an attempt to influence vot­ers. Read the whole story --> District 73 candidate upset over questions in GOP poll | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

What are the mechanics of voting? For the answer to that, go to the AEC's Voting page.

For a political hopeful in Alabama, it could be the ultimate endorsement -- a show of support from University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban.

Bessemer Councilwoman Dorothy Davidson, who is running for mayor of the city, claims she secured Saban's endorsement of her campaign three weeks ago. Davidson printed it on a color campaign flier that shows her and the coach smiling side by side on a golf course.

But University of Alabama athletics officials on Tuesday said there is no such endorsement. And the photo of Davidson and Saban together is not real, but digitally altered from another photo. ...

Davidson, when contacted about the campaign ad and photo on Tuesday afternoon, at first said the image of her and Saban together was real and taken about three weeks ago. However, when presented later with a 2007 photo of Saban and his wife that appears to be the base photo onto which Davidson's image was added, the candidate acknowledged that her image was digitally added to the 2007 photo. Read the whole story --> Bessemer mayoral candidate Dorothy Davidson claims Nick Saban endorsement, passing out fliers with altered photo | al.com

And on 19 August: The man who has been managing Bessemer Councilwoman Dorothy Davidson's campaign for mayor this afternoon said he tricked Davidson into believing she had an endorsement from University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban.

Kevin Morris, 35, said he is responsible for the campaign flier that features a digitally altered picture of Davidson and Saban and touts an endorsement by the coach.

Morris said he told Davidson the photo of the coach and his wife, Terry, was actually of Saban and his mother. He said he told Davidson that Saban had OK'd the altering of the photograph.

"I lied," Morris said. "She (Davidson) didn't do anything wrong." -- Read the whole story --> http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/08/bessemer_mayoral_candidates_ca.html

The proposal will move the earliest nominating contests -- in IA, NH, SC and NV -- back from early Jan. to Feb. It will also require states that hold nominating contests in March to award delegates based on the proportion of votes candidates win, eliminating the prospect of an early winner-take-all state that would effectively end the nominating process.

Proponents said the measure would avoid the calamity of a national primary. Already, nearly 40 states have primaries scheduled for the first possible day in the nominating calendar. ...

In practice, the new rules will require GOP WH candidates to place more emphasis on grassroots organizing. Candidates will have to build their campaigns in dozens of states, rather than focusing solely on raising money for TV ads. What's more, primaries won't be held so close to the winter holidays. Read the whole story --> RNC Passes Calendar Reform - Hotline On Call

Florence attorney Chris Smith, counsel for the Lauderdale County Commission, said he received written approval from the U.S. Justice Department. ...

A bill, allowing the public to vote on the issue, was introduced by state Rep. Mike Curtis, D-Greenhill, during the 2010 legislative session.

County officials said the ballot will prompt voters to decide if they want two people to handle the positions. Read the whole story --> Voters to decide on chair, probate judge separation | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

The suit, filed Thursday, was intended to reopen Greenetrack and avoid a raid at Victory-Land in Macon County. The raid appears imminent after the state Supreme Court on Friday gave the governor's anti-gambling task force a green light.

Voting rights lawyer Ed Still is one of several attorneys who filed the lawsuit over the June raid and confiscation of more than 800 bingo machines from the Greenetrack bingo casino in Greene County.

Still said on Friday that Riley never got clearance from the U.S. Justice Department to take action against Greene and Macon counties, which have local constitutional amendments approved by voters authorizing bingo.

The lawsuit's premise is simple: Riley's actions reversed voter intentions in both counties, effectively canceling their votes. Read the whole story --> Suit claims bingo raids thwart black voters | TuscaloosaNews.com

Johnson v. Riley (Voting Rights Act Complaint)

The attorney general says the state court system is supposed to come up with rules for enforce­ment; the state court system says the law first needs the blessing of the U.S. Justice Department, which the AG's office has not sought; and a legislative sponsor of the law says he'd be happy to rewrite it if someone would tell him what's wrong with it.

"Only the combined forces of the three branches of government could create such a confusing situ­ation," said Mark White, a Bir­mingham lawyer who led the 1996 review of the law and found sev­eral problems that make it hard to enforce.

A federal lawsuit filed last week asks that the law be formally blocked until the Justice Depart­ment can review it, contending that, as the situation stands now, the law could be haphazardly en­forced. Read the whole story --> Alabama judicial campaigns law unenforced for 15 years | al.com

The timing was too close for any changes to be made, and Bentley ended up winning by a 56-44 percent margin. But one potential reform for future primaries could resolve many problems with the status quo: instant runoff voting.

Instant runoff voting is designed to simulate a runoff election, but without the drawbacks of runoffs: low voter turnout, high cost to taxpayers, negative campaigning and potential for the lack of a crossover rule to lead to unrepresentative party nominees. It's been adopted to replace two rounds of voting in such cities as Oakland, Minneapolis and Memphis; has a long record of use in elections in dozens of major associations; and is used for overseas voters in Arkansas, Louisiana and South Carolina.

Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no candidate reaches the required threshold -- 50 percent in Alabama -- the top two candidates advance to a runoff, which can be held instantly. Ballots cast for the eliminated candidates are added to the totals of the runoff candidates based on whichever runoff candidate is ranked next on the ballot. That's it -- no need for a second election. Read the whole piece --> MY VIEW: True voting reform tops crossover rule | al.com

A copy of the complaint is shown below:

Little v. King Complaint

Joe Reed, chairman of the ADC, has filed a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Commission, alleging that a campaign flier produced by Warner as part of her re-election campaign improperly implied the state organization had endorsed her.

Reed said the action was a violation of the state's fair campaign practices law and the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics. ...

A complaint to the Judicial Inquiry Commission is serious business. The commission's mandated function is to investigate allegations of misconduct in office, violations of the Canons of Judicial Ethics or of disability made against any judge of the court, according to a document of the state Records Commission. -- Read the whole article --> ADC files complaint against judge over ad | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

The Election Night Reporting system is billed by the Secretary of State's Office as a way to bring Alabama elections "into the 21st century." It is expected to offer voting results, turnout information and possibly precinct-by-precinct data, all online and updated regularly through the night after polls close. ...

On Tuesday, election officials sought to test the system in Alabama's four largest counties: Mobile, Montgomery, Jefferson and Madison.

Apparently, the night's biggest difficulty came from the county in which the Secretary of State's Office is located. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to participate," said Trey Granger, director of elections for Montgomery County. "Our Internet went down." -- Read the entire story --> New Alabama election system to show statewide results online | al.com

The issue came to light when a voter's name appeared on the list of those having cast absen­tee ballots when the person did not vote absentee. The Autauga County board of registrars made a complaint to the district attor­ney's office, alleging that voter had cast three votes in the pri­mary, Houston said.

"My office has determined that there was no indication of voter fraud in Autauga County, and there was only one vote cast by the person who was alleged to have voted several times," Houston wrote in a letter accom­panying the report. "However, it appears there was an error with the computer system which monitors absentee voting. There are three possible scenar­ios as to what might have oc­curred in the Autauga County primary and they include: un­lawful human intervention, simple human error, or a mal­function in the computer soft­ware."

Houston wrote that the secre­tary of state's office is best equipped to determine if any problems with the computer system exist. -- Read the whole story --> Autauga County report on voting irregularities sent to secretary of state's office | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

Alabama Republicans need to ask themselves what they really want in the wake of Tuesday's GOP gubernatorial runoff between Bradley Byrne and Robert Bentley that drew lots of Democrats.

Such crossover voting is prohibited by Alabama Democratic Party rules. Republicans have no such ban in primary runoffs.

The state has come full circle on this.

Several election cycles ago, Republicans were the ones "crossing over" to vote in the Democratic gubernatorial runoff. -- Read the whole editorial --> EDITORIAL: Political parties and election rules | al.com

Parker said he had learned from the state attorney general's office that his failure to file a portion of his campaign financing papers on time could not be overlooked or amended. ...

I told you in the beginning I was no politician. I will stand on my principles; I take full responsibility for my actions. This is my fault and my fault alone. Unlike others, I will not cost the county I love so dearly one cent by fighting a lawsuit I can’t win.

“I want to see the Republican Party get on with the business of running my party, the party of Reagan. Therefore, I cannot and will not accept the Republican Party’s nomination for associate commissioner. God bless America and God bless Cullman County,” Parker finished. -- Read the whole story --> Commission shocker » Top News » CullmanTimes.com, Cullman, Alabama