ALEA disputes story of provisional ballot in Auburn-area GOP Senate primary

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sunday disputed an account by a voter who may have tipped an Auburn-area GOP Senate primary into a tie.

A committee of the Alabama Republican Party on Saturday declared a tie in the race, won by Auburn City Councilman Jay Hovey over Sen. Tom Whatley by a single vote. The party said in a statement on Sunday that an "uncounted provisional ballot in favor of Senator Tom Whatley was improperly excluded from the vote totals."

According to the conservative website Yellowhammer News, Whatley alleged that a Dadeville voter who thought she had registered to vote at an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) office in Opelika on April 28. According to the website, the Whatley campaign says the voter was told she was not on the rolls on May 24 and would have to cast a provisional ballot.

ALEA said in a statement on Sunday night that it investigated the allegation and that the individual "did not complete an issuance transaction and was never issued an Alabama driver's license."

"Voter registration information from ALEA's Driver License Division is only sent after the credential is issued and the customer signs the required voter declaration, which did not occur in this specific incident," the statement said.

Messages seeking comment were left with Whatley and Hovey on Sunday.

The Alabama Republican Party Saturday declared a tie in the Senate District 27 GOP primary, following a challenge. The party said in a statement Saturday it would decide the result under a portion of the Alabama code that calls for the drawing of lots in the presence of Secretary of State John Merrill and Gov. Kay Ivey.

"The Alabama Republican Party has the authority to pick its nominee in the event of a tied primary," the party said in a statement on Sunday evening. "In this case, the ALGOP Candidate Committee voted in favor of having Chairman John Wahl resolve this tie by lot, the method used for such situations in a general election, as outlined in Alabama Code 17-12-23."

The statement said the party was working to establish a day for the decision. Merrill said Sunday afternoon that Wahl told him both Whatley and Hovey had scheduling conflicts that could delay the coin flip to the end of this week or the beginning of next week.

"Chairman Wahl indicated to me that they wanted to do it as soon as possible," Merrill said. "It looks as if schedules of the two candidates will not come together until end of this week or first of next week."

More: Alabama GOP declares Auburn state Senate primary a tie; winner to be decided by lot

Hovey denounced the party's decision in a statement to the Advertiser on Saturday.

"Certainly every vote is important and it's unfortunate if anyone is mistaken that they are registered to vote," the statement said. But if the proper, legal process isn't followed to register, a person should be allowed to cast a ballot to be considered."

Hovey won the district -- comprising Lee, Russell and Tallapoosa counties -- by a single vote out of 16,745 cast. The result showed a stark divide between the counties. Whatley got 81% of the vote in Russell County and 69% in Tallapoosa County. Hovey, however, got 63% of the vote in fast-growing Lee County, the most populous part of the district, and won by a single vote out of nearly 17,000 cast.

Whatley spent $1.3 million on the race to Hovey's $103,000, according to the Secretary of State's office.

The party cited Section 17-12-23 of the Code of Alabama in calling for the race to be decided by lots. A separate section, 17-13-21, refers specifically to ties in primary elections, and says "such tie shall be decided by the chair of the state executive committee, if the office is an office other than a county office." County chairs decide primaries for county offices.

Merrill said Sunday that he believed the primary election code gave the chair discretion to decide how to resolve the conflict. He pointed to a Republican primary for a Houston County School Board race in 2020, in which the GOP county chair decided to resolve a tie between incumbent Ricky Moore and challenger Scott Long with a roll of the dice. Long won.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com. Updated at 10:37 p.m. with statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. 

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: ALEA disputes provisional ballot story in Auburn primary controversy