Voters in new Alabama congressional district given incorrect poll information

More than 6,000 voters in a newly formed congressional district drawn to boost Black voting power in Alabama received postcards with incorrect voting information ahead of Tuesday’s primary, alarming advocates concerned about the potential impact on a race seen as crucial to boosting Black representation and Democrats’ hopes to flip the US House in November.

James Snipes, chair of the Montgomery county board of registrars, said 6,593 county voters received postcards listing the incorrect congressional district after the county’s election software misidentified some people living in Alabama’s second congressional district as living in the seventh.

Snipes said voters arriving at the polls were still able to vote for the correct candidates. The county had sent about 2,000 notices to affected voters as of Tuesday evening and will send out an additional 4,000 on Wednesday, he said.

“Everyone who came to their precinct was able to vote for the correct candidates,” Snipes said, attributing the incorrect information to a “software glitch” made when adjusting to the recent shift in state congressional districts. “This was a good-faith effort.”

Montgomery county, home to about 159,000 registered voters, now falls in Alabama’s second congressional district after a federal court drew new congressional lines in November. That was in response to a US supreme court ruling that the state had diluted the voting power of Black residents, violating the Voting Rights Act.

The three-judge panel decided that Alabama, which is 27% Black, should have a second district where Black voters comprise a large share of the population. The move has sparked a congested and competitive primary contest as Democrats hope to flip the congressional seat in the