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Must match candidates, delegates perfectly Clarke County voters will join others from around the state in casting ballots for presidential candidates in a primary contest Tuesday, Feb. 5. Alabama moved its primary up several months so as to have a greater say in who is the Democratic and Republican nominees but so did many other states. Over 20 states will be holding presidential primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5. Must declare party perference Voters will have to declare a party preference- either Democratic or Republican. Democratic candidates on the ballot include Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama. Also on the ballot but already dropped out are Joe Biden, Christopher Dodd and Bill Richardson. There are even more Republican candidates. Frontrunners include John McCain and Mike Huckabee. Other candidates on the ballot include Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Fred Thompson, although Thompson dropped out of the race Tuesday. Hugh Corts, a Mountain Brook physician, is also a GOP candidate. In both parties, voters will vote for the candidates and then for delegates pledged to them. However, voters will have to be careful. If they do not vote for the correct delegates matched to their choice of candidates, their ballot will be rejected by the voting machine and the ballot will be spoiled. They will be able to request a second ballot, explained Clarke County Probate Judge Becky Presnall. Must vote correct number of delegates For instance, in the Democratic contest, voters select a presidential candidate and then four male and four female candidates per congressional district. If they vote for Hillary Clinton and then vote for delegate hopefuls other than those pledged to Clinton, their ballot will be rejected. Similarly, if they vote for more than the specified number of delegates, their vote will be rejected as spoiled. They may vote for less than the specified number. They will have an opportunity to request a second ballot and to vote again. The Democratic ballot is more complicated than the Republican ballot in this regard because Democrats select more candidates per congressional district and there are many more candidates running on the Democratic ballot. Voters may be tempted to skip about on the ballot and vote for individuals they know or names they recognize but it could cause their ballot to be rejected. Deadlines to register to vote, to apply for absentee ballots Clarke County residents have until Friday, Jan. 25 to register to vote in the Feb. 5 primary. Individuals can register at the Board of Registrars' office in the basement of the Clarke County Courthouse in Grove Hill or they may mail their completed applications to the registrars as long as they are postmarked by Jan. 25. Call the registrars at 251-275- 3062 for more information. Registered voters have until Thursday, Jan. 31 to obtain an absentee ballot application for the primary. Absentee ballots are available at the Circuit Clerk's office on the second floor of the courthouse. Completed absentee ballots must be returned by Monday, Feb. 4 or postmarked by that date if mailed. Early voting in Baldwin, Mobile Voters in Baldwin and Mobile counties only are being allowed to vote early- on Jan. 30- due to Feb. 5 falling on Mardi Gras Day, a big holiday on the Gulf Coast. Because of the early voting provision, they also have different deadlines for registering and for absentee ballots. Clarke citizens should not be confused by the different schedules they may see for those counties in the daily newspaper or on TV, Presnall and Jean Payne of the registrars' office warned. Several polling locations have been changed. Voters at the former D&K Grocery in Walker Springs will vote at the same location but it is now called Overstreet Grocery. Garrick Grocery used to be the polling location for Whatley voters but they will now vote at the nearby Whatley Timber Company. Morvin area voters who used to vote at the Baptists' Camp Morvin will now vote at the Walnut Grove Missionary Church. A full list of polling locations and poll workers is on Pages 8B and 9B of today's newspaper.
Polling locations will be open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
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