Coffee voters favor Moore

When the ballots were tallied at the New Brockton Farm Center after the special general election Dec. 12, Roy Moore was the clear choice of Coffee County voters in the race for United States Senator.

More than 36 percent of the registered voters in Coffee County cast a ballot in the special general election held statewide Dec. 13. Voter turnout in the state was 40.46 percent.

The election was held to determine who would fill the United States Senate seat vacated when then-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. Attorney General by President Donald Trump.

When Trump appointed Sessions to the national post, then-Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley appointed then-Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange to temporarily fill the senate seat vacated by Sessions until a special election could be called in 2018.

Gov. Kay Ivey called the special primary election as one of her first orders of business after assuming the state top slot when then-Gov. Robert Bentley resigned April 10. She called for the primary election a year early citing her belief that the citizens should have had a voice in that selection.

In May, Ivey signed a law that prevents crossover voting in the state. The bill bans voters from casting a ballot for one party in a primary and then crossing over to vote in another party’s runoff elections.

The Aug. 15 primary election was the first in which the party in which a person voted in the primary determines in which party they could vote in the Sept. 26 runoff.

Strange was defeated in the primary, leaving Roy Moore the Republican Party candidate in the Dec. 12 special election. There was no runoff in the Democratic Party because Doug Jones was the clear winner.

Voter turnout in Coffee County was 36.52 percent. The precinct with the highest percent of registered voters casting a ballot was Holleys Store with 62 of the 122 registered voters—50.82 percent—casting a ballot. The precinct with the lowest percentage of registered voters casting a ballot was Zion Christian Community with 192 of the 659 registered voters—29.14 percent—casting a ballot

Jones was the choice at John’s Chapel AME and the New Brockton Senior Center where he garnered 591 votes to Moore’s 318 and 118 to Moore’s 101 votes, respectively. There were five write-in votes at the Farm Center and three write-in votes at the New Brockton Senior Center.

At the Enterprise State Community College voting place, Moore won 382 votes to Jones’ 290 votes. There were 16 write-in ballots cast.

At Heritage United Methodist Church, Moore garnered 509 votes to Jones’ 466 votes. There were 18 write-in votes cast.

At the Enterprise YMCA, Moore got 1,304 votes to Jones’ 549 votes. There were 53 write-in votes.

At the Enterprise Recreation Center, Moore earned 1,215 votes to Jones’ 529 votes. There were 45 write-in votes.

At the New Brockton Farm Center Community Room, Moore received 297 votes. Jones received 85 votes. There were five write-in votes.

At the Elba National Guard Armory voting place, Moore received 152 votes to Jones’ 84 votes. At the Elba Recreation Center, Moore received 327votes to Jones’ 152 votes. There were seven write-in ballots cast at the Elba Rec Center and no write-ins at the armory.

There were 177 absentee ballots cast in Coffee County.