Morgan County Democrats join call for recount

By Staff
Leada DeVaney amd Tracy B. Cieniewicz, Hartselle Enquirer
Democrats in Morgan County are joining in the call for a ballot recount in the governor's race.
"We (Democrats) have demanded a recount," Brian Oakes, an attorney and chair of the Morgan County Democratic Party, said. "But Attorney General Pryor is threatening to jail anyone who does it."
Alabama voters went to the polls last Tuesday, supposedly casting 672,222 votes for Republican Bob Riley and 669,105 for Democratic incumbent Don Siegelman. Early reports had Siegelman winning a second term as governor.
Early Wednesday morning, however, totals in Baldwin County were revised, giving Riley the edge.
The change, along with allegations of voting problems in several other counties, prompted Siegelman to call for a recount. On Monday, attorney general Bill Pryor, a Republican, said Alabama law prohibited a recount, clearing the path for Riley to go to Montgomery.
That's not sitting well with Democrats, including Oakes.
"Supporters have made requests in every county of Alabama to come to a fair and accurate determination of who the governor truly is," Oakes said.
Oakes filed a request for a recount with the Morgan County Canvasing Board on Friday, just hours before Pryor issued an opinion stating that it would be illegal for counties to break the seals on voting machines.
Oakes said he filed the request as a registered voter and a supporter of Siegelman, not because he believes any wrongdoing has occurred with the vote count in Morgan County.
"I told each of the Canvasing Board officials upon filing the request that it is not my position that anything has happened to the vote in Morgan County, but gross mistakes, errors, or misconduct did occur in Baldwin County," Oakes said.
In Morgan County, Riley received 19,461 votes to Siegelman's 15,983 votes.