BESSEMER, Ala. — Bessemer’s municipal election ran into a decidedly low-tech problem this week: The encrypted thumb drives needed to complete the vote count were locked inside the wrong election box.
The mix-up left results incomplete from Tuesday’s municipal election, with returns posted from 11 of the city’s 12 precincts. The missing data could affect several close races for mayor, City Council and the Bessemer Board of Education.
Jefferson County Board of Registrars Chairman Barry Stephenson said a poll worker placed the encrypted thumb drives into a sealed Record of Election box rather than turning them over to the county for tabulation. Because the box had been sealed, a court order was required to reopen it, retrieve the drives and allow the registrar’s office to finish its work.
The delay was first described Tuesday night as an information technology problem. But Bessemer City Clerk Wanda Taylor said Wednesday that there had been no IT issue, leaving the city with an election delay that involved less a computer glitch than a misplaced piece of hardware.
The partial results showed Mayor Kenneth Gulley leading Louise Alexander, 1,809 votes to 1,642, but neither candidate had the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Darral Bethel had 466 votes, and Brenita Lewis had 91.
In City Council District 1, incumbent Jarvis Collier led Michael Knight Sr. by two votes, 252-250. In District 7, incumbent Cleophus King had 49.63% of the vote, just short of the majority required to win outright.
The incomplete count also left a close Bessemer Board of Education race unresolved. In District 6, Grover Dunn led Darryl Aikerson by 13 votes in the partial returns. The registrar’s office also was reviewing four provisional ballots, though officials had not identified the districts in which those ballots were cast.
AL.com reported Wednesday that the drive was retrieved after a court order and delivered to the county. ABC 33/40 and WBRC reported that the remaining results were expected to be released at noon Tuesday, Sept. 1, though officials had not publicly explained which precinct’s results were on the drives or how the drives came to be sealed in the records box.
For now, Bessemer voters have partial returns, several unresolved races and a reminder that even in an age of encrypted voting equipment, elections can still be slowed by something small enough to fit in a pocket.