Legislation to move Perry County’s central voting center from the old National Guard Armory on Highway 14 to the newer armory building at 620 Magnolia Street in Marion has passed both chambers of the Alabama Legislature and is awaiting Gov. Kay Ivey’s signature.
Senate Bill 301, sponsored by Sen. Robert Stewart (D-Selma), passed the Senate and House without opposition during the week of February 24. The bill establishes the Magnolia Street facility as the voting center for Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4.
The legislation follows a 3-2 vote by the Perry County Commission in January to relocate the polling place. Vice Chairman Carlton Lewis and Commissioners Brett Harrison and Tony Long supported the move, citing the deteriorating condition of the Highway 14 building.
Commission Chairman Albert Turner and Commissioner Barbara Howze voted against it.
Turner said on his Facebook page in February that he would work to defeat the bill and predicted it would not pass the Senate.
The January commission vote triggered a public dispute over a legal notice placed in The Times-Standard-Herald by Commissioner Harrison giving notice of the proposed move.
County employee Bev Gordon contacted the newspaper and asked that the notice be pulled, saying the county would not pay for it. Vice Chairman Lewis subsequently called the paper and instructed that publication continue as ordered by the commission’s vote.
Turner has said that U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell’s office secured funding commitments to help pay for repairs to the older armory, raising questions at the time about whether the move was necessary.
The bill takes effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.
