Republicans say there is "something fishy" in Perry County because black folks showed up and voted on election day

Something smells fishy in Perry County all right.

My favorite right wing talk show host/blogger  is using a report by Montgomery based  reporter Dana Beryl, published in The Gadsden Times regarding voter turnout in Perry Couny as proof black voter fraud is alive and well, and justification for Voter Suppression Laws.

Sigh..

According to Beryl's headline and lead paragraph, the United States Justice Department should have sent Federal Election Monitors to Uniontown Alabama, which happens to be majority black, because they had more registered voters than people on election day, with an 55% turnout, representing 80.6% of the towns 2010 population.  Key words 2010 population.

The chairwoman o the  Perry County Board of registrars is quoted in the article saying 279 of the 2576 voters were "removable" because they were either dead or having been convicted of felonies.  So,  why didn't the board of registers "remove" them" prior to election?  Is there proof the dead and ex felons cast votes in the mayoral election? If so, produce it.

An unnamed election official is quoted in the article saying there were 650 absentee ballots cast (not to be confused with counted) in the Uniontown election. Beryl then  notes an absentee ballot is to given only to voters who say they will be out of town on election day.  Which naturally  leads republicans to conclude the high number of absentee ballots invite fraud.

Perry County Commissioner Albert Turner, Jr. said high voter turnout was the due to voters showing their appreciation to the Mayor and the City Council for the4.8 million dollar grant Uniontown received from the United States Department of Agriculture to repair and expand it's water treatment system, hopefully fixing decades of sewer problems.  

You think?

Breaking~ RedEye Congresswoman Sewell Watch

H/T gradyw

We have some serious problems in terms of Democratic leadership in this state. Sewell is the highest ranking elected Dem in the State and needs to show leadership on these matters.
We are well past the time of pomp and circumstance just for getting elected. It's time for someone to show some real leadership in this District.

So far I've seen nothing but disaster from Sewell from her chief of staff decision, to naming Albert Turner Jr to her transition team , to choosing to hobnob with Condoleeza Rice (was in the B'ham News last week in the Social events section) rather than spend time with the real folks in the district.

Also per gradyw

The appointment of Albert Turner Jr to a transition team really is troubling for several reasons.
Google him if you know nothing about him.

He's right in the thick of the coal ash controversy in Perry County for starters. And not on the side of being progressive on this issue.

Per archangelsk regarding the Turner appointment;

I was not aware of that, Albert Turner, Jr. being named to her transition team, and yes it is troubling. Knowing what I know, Sewell needs to take care with the company she keeps. Turner is one of these "bad Democrats" that we as party members need to be on the lookout for.
So this is something that she needs to have her feet held to the fire for...like we need to not be complaining about it so much here, but possibly instead going to her directly and asking her and getting her reaction or reply and then posting it here and discussing that.

We can be gadflies, but there is a way that is much more productive to go about it.

Note to archangelsk, I disagree Sewells' designer pumps shouldn't be publicly held to the fire. She is a public figure. She can not be held accountable with a face to face/one on one meeting, that's how back room deals are conducted. The people are the public therefore public business and interest should be conducted in public, not in private.

Here is the announcement from Turner's office regarding his appointment.

Here is a quick google search regarding Perry County and the Coal Ash dump.

WASHINGTON - The massive coal-ash spill at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant may have been a costly environmental nightmare, but from Albert Turner Jr.'s point of view, it was "a godsend."

Turner, a county commissioner in the rural Alabama community where the coal ash is being shipped for permanent disposal, said Wednesday that the spill has given the poor, mostly black community an economic boom "unseen since the state of Texas struck oil."

"I sleep well at night knowing we've got coal ash in the ground and cash in the bank," Turner said during a congressional hearing on the spill.

More background on Albert Turner Sr. and Jr.