Voters in Birmingham will choose between Kelvin Datcher and Erskine Brown Jr. in a special election for House District 52 on Tuesday. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)
Voters in Birmingham go to the polls Tuesday to elect a state representative in a special election for House District 52.
Kelvin Datcher, the deputy director of community development for Birmingham, will compete against Republican candidate Erskine Brown Jr., who entered the race after Carlos Crum, the former Republican nominee, dissolved his campaign on July 8.
Datcher finished in first place in a six-candidate primary with 38% of the vote in June and won the run-off for the nomination in July with 55% of the vote.
The district covers a portion of the University of Alabama at Birmingham as well as parts of Fairfield and Homewood.
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When do polls open?
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Where do I find my polling place?
The Alabama Secretary of State’s website allows you to check voter registration and the location of your polling place. You can find it here.
What do I need to vote?
Voters must present a valid photo ID before voting. Valid forms of ID include:
Alabama driver’s license (not expired or expired less than 60 days)
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency digital driver’s license
Alabama Non-Driver ID (not expired or expired less than 60 days)
Alabama Photo Voter ID card
State-issued ID (Alabama or any other state)
Federal-issued ID
U.S. Passport
Employee ID from the federal government; state of Alabama; county; municipality, board or other entity of Alabama
Student or employee ID from a public or private post-secondary educational institution in Alabama or other states (including colleges, universities, postgraduate technical and professional schools)
Digital student or employee ID from a public or private post-secondary educational institution in Alabama or other states (including colleges, universities, postgraduate technical and professional schools)
Military ID
Tribal ID
Where is the district located?
The Birmingham-area House district includes a section of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and parts of Fairfield and Homewood.
How did the seat become vacant?
The seat was held by Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, who pleaded guilty to charges of wire and mail fraud and obstruction of justice and resigned from the House in March. Rogers, first elected to the House in 1982 and its longest serving member before he resigned, was charged with directing hundreds of thousands of dollars for public projects in Jefferson County to a youth baseball league, with a portion of the money being kicked back to an assistant and former romantic partner. A judge sentenced Rogers to 13 months in prison in a federal correctional facility in Talladega.
Does the seat have a partisan lean?
The seat is likely to favor a Democratic candidate. The last time a Republican ran in the district was in 2014, when Rogers got almost 77% of the vote against Republican nominee Phillip Bahakel, an attorney.
What issues dominate the race?
In separate interviews, candidates discussed topics such as education, health care and community safety. Datcher said he supported increased teachers’ pay, reduced classroom sizes, and funding for arts and music programs.
Health care was another priority for Datcher. He supports Medicaid expansion through an Arkansas-like program that would allow the use of Medicaid expansion dollars to buy private insurance for the uninsured. A healthy workforce would bring economic benefits, he said, and it would appeal to Republican lawmakers focused on economic development.
He also advocated for strong community engagement and stressed collaboration between local and state officials to secure district resources. Datcher has secured endorsements from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and other officials and positioned himself as a candidate who could use his connections to benefit the district.
Attempts to reach Brown on Monday were unsuccessful. He supports increasing benefits for seniors, and bolstering support for health care and education support, he said in an interview with al.com. He also supports strengthening Birmingham’s curfew ordinance for kids younger than 17.
What happens after today?
The candidate with the most votes will be elected to represent the district.
Will the results alter control of the Legislature?
No. Republicans currently hold 76 of the 105 seats in the lower chamber and 27 of the 35 seats in the upper chamber.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
Kelvin Datcher
Age: 54
Residence: Birmingham
Occupation: Deputy Director of Community Development, Birmingham
Education: B.A., Political Science, Gettysburg College, 1992.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience: First-time candidate
Fundraising: Through Friday, Datcher had raised $210,003, with $3,841 in-kind donation, and spent $177,088. She had $32,915 on hand as of March 15
Erskine Brown Jr.
Party: Republican
Fundraising: Brown has not filed a campaign finance report with the Secretary of State.