In-person absentee voting expanded on Saturdays

Voters in Marengo County will be given two more opportunities to vote early and make sure their ballots get to the right place.

Probate Judge Laurie Hall received permission from the County Commission Tuesday to open her office on Saturdays Oct. 17 and 24 from 8 a.m. to noon for walk-in absentee voting.

Alabama does not have early voting, but in-person absentee voting is the closest to it. Already Hall’s office has had many walk-in voters who come into the office during the week.

Hall said State Rep. A.J. McCampbell asked if her office was willing to open for absentee voting on two Saturdays. All protocols for COVID-19 safety will be followed, she added.

Hall said as of Tuesday her office has mailed out 530 absentee ballots, and 266 of them have been returned.

The Commission, however, declined Hall’s request to suspend all license tag business on Election Day, Nov. 3, because her staff will be involved in making sure in-person voting goes smoothly.

“It’s not realistic,” said Commission Chairman Freddie Armstead. His objection concerned those who wouldn’t get the word that no licenses or tags would be issued that day and would drive to the Courthouse. “I don’t want to shut the tags down.”

In a compromise, Hall agreed to designate one of her employees to handle any tag business that would occur, but because of limited tag services, she highly recommended that customers use online services on Election Day or go to her office on another date.

Economic Development Director Jo Ellen Martin brought the Commission up to date on programs and activities with MCEDA. A recently awarded USDA and Rural Development grant of $145,000 will enable the auditorium in the former National Guard Armory to be air conditioned, allowing the facility to be used all year long.

The auditorium is used by MCEDA, the County Extension Service and many other organizations, she said, but “every activity was limited to those months of the year when it was cool.” The grant, which also will pay for the parking lot to be paved, “will open up a whole new window of opportunity.”

She said Superior Inland Terminals, which had purchased 52 acres on the Lock and Dam Road, is ready to build its barge-loading site. She is working with the company to fill out paperwork to apply for abatements and other benefits.

Martin also said MCEDA had identified “an extremely, and I do mean extremely, incredible marketing plan.” She said it is “plain, simple, straightforward, and it works.”

The plan will enable the county to reach companies around the world. Her research shows that 80.7 percent of companies look to locate in a rural county for lower costs.

In other business, the Commission voted to move the November meeting to Wednesday, Nov. 11, and accepted the Grand Jury Report.