Qualifying for Haleyville Board of Education election begins July 2

HALEYVILLE    -  Qualifying begins Tuesday, July 2,  for those seeking seats on the Haleyville Board of Education.
Places 2 and 3 on the Haleyville Board of Education will be up for election on Tuesday, August 27.  The Place 2 seat is currently held by Boo Haughton, who defeated Valeria Taylor in 2022, to finish the remaining two years of the  term of Barry Burleson, who had resigned, according to Haleyville Municipal Elections Manager Christy Harbin.
Currently, Place 3 on the BOE  is held by Chad Tidwell, who is completing his first six-year term on the board, said Harbin, adding that all BOE terms are six years.
Those interested in qualifying for either Place 2 or 3, need to come by Haleyville City Hall and pick up a candidate packet, which they must complete, pay a $50 qualification fee and file a statement of ethics form, according to Harbin.
Those qualifying for BOE, as well as voters casting ballots in the August 27 election, must reside in the Haleyville school district and within the borders of Winston County, Harbin emphasized.  Although a portion of Haleyville is within Marion County, a person qualifying or voting must reside in Winston County, Harbin said.

“If you’re in the school district and you live in Marion County, you cannot run,” Harbin stressed. “You have to live in the Haleyville school district in Winston County.”

Polling locations that will be voting in the Haleyville school board election include the Neighborhood Facilities Building, Haleyville Senior Center, Waldrop Church, Pebble Community Center and Delmar Fire Department, Harbin explained.  Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. August 27.

A voter must have resided within this district for a period of 30 days or more immediately preceding the date of the election in order to be authorized to participate in the election, election officials emphasized.
A candidate for school board must have resided within the Winston County/Haleyville school district for a period of at least 90 days on election day in order to qualify for office, officials added.
The school board election differs from municipal elections in that BOE members are elected initially to staggered terms, depending on the seat, but after that are elected to six-year terms, Harbin explained.
“Boo’s term this time was shorter because he was elected to finish out Barry’s term,” Harbin stated.
Qualifying for BOE places 2 and 3 ends at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 16.
After qualifying ends, Harbin will send candidate information to Electronic Software Systems  so ballots can be printed, she said.
For those who will be out of town or unable to vote in person August 27, the process to vote absentee will begin around mid-July, election officials said.
To vote absentee, a person needs to come to Haleyville City Hall, complete an application and present a copy of their photo identification or driver’s license, after which time the person will receive an absentee ballot, which can be voted in person and turned in to the city clerk, Harbin said.  
If the person is not planning to vote absentee in person at City Hall, he or she needs to write a letter requesting an absentee ballot or send someone to request an absentee application, she added.
“Someone can pick up an application, mail the application back and request a ballot,” Harbin confirmed.
“I can’t give a ballot to anyone other than the person voting,” she added. “I can mail a ballot to the address and then, if the person can’t return the ballot in person, they have to mail it back in.”
The address to mail an absentee ballot to is Haleyville City Hall, 911 21st Street, Haleyville, Ala. 35565.
The last day for an absentee ballot to be hand-delivered to Harbin, as well as the last day a person can request an absentee ballot, is Tuesday, August 20, Harbin said.
“They (persons voting absentee) have to mail the application back, if they cannot personally bring it back,” Harbin noted.
Any person who picks up an absentee application for another person, cannot return the application. Instead, the application must be mailed, along with a copy of the voter’s ID, according to Harbin.
“If I get a request in the mail on August 20, I will send (the absentee ballot),” Harbin stressed. “If I get a request in the mail August 21, that was postdated August 20, I will send it.
“If it is not postdated August 20, they do not receive a ballot,” Harbin further emphasized.

Poll workers needed
 
Harbin said that poll workers are urgently needed for the BOE election.  Those interested in working the polls should contact Harbin at (205) 486-3121, extension 7.
“Most of our poll workers are elderly and they do not have the ability to do it. They have passed away. They are not in good health.  We are having a really hard time finding poll workers,” Harbin emphasized.
To be a poll worker, a person needs to be a voter at the polling site for which he or she applies. Pay is $175 for returning officers and $150 for poll workers, with the number of poll workers at each site determined by the number of voters who cast ballots there, Harbin explained.
Persons interested in becoming a poll worker must also attend a training school, Harbin added.  Poll workers must also live within the Haleyville School district in Winston County.  Persons who live in the school district but reside in Marion County cannot be poll workers in this election.