The last time voters went to the polls in Butler County, they turned out to lend their &uot;No&uot; vote to defeating Gov. Bob Riley’s billion dollar tax referendum.

On June 1, 2004, local voters will return once more to the polls to vote on several key offices.

While Sen. John Kerry and Pres. George W. Bush have their nominations locked up, they are not the most important ones locally.

Locally, voters will vote on who will serve as the district attorney for Butler, Crenshaw and Lowndes counties.

Voters will also vote on who will serve as the count’s local legislative branch on the county commission.

U.S. Rep. Terry Everett’s seat is up for grabs as he seeks another term in office.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby is also seeking re-election.

The deadline for qualifying as a Democratic candidate is April 2, at 5 p.m.

Attempts to contact the local Republican Party leadership went unreturned.

Poll Workers

When it comes to the primary and General Election, Butler County always needs poll workers.

Poll workers ensure fair elections throughout the state.

For those interested in serving, contact the local political party or let your favorite candidate know of your interest.

Poll Watcher

A watcher represents the interest of one candidate or party at a voting place and looks for any irregularities that might be harmful to the candidate or party. Each party entering candidates in a general election and each candidate at a primary is entitled to appoint a watcher for each voting place. The watcher must be a resident and qualified elector of Alabama. In general elections a watcher may be appointed by the chairman of the appropriate local executive committee, a precinct committeeman, or any candidate; however, in primary elections and municipal elections only candidates may appoint watchers.

The appointing authority must make a designation of a watcher in writing and sign it; the watcher then presents the signed paper to the election inspectors at the polling place where the watcher is to observe.

Number

In a primary election there may be one watcher per candidate in a polling place.

Appointment

In primaries each poll watcher’s appointment must be in writing and signed by the candidate. In general elections poll watchers may be named by the chairman of the county executive committee, by nominees for office, or by beat committeemen so long as the limit on one watcher per party or organization per polling place is not exceeded. The general election law does not specifically require that the appointments be in writing, but written appointments can be very helpful in avoiding confusion over who represents whom.

Time

Poll watchers may be present in the polling place from the time that the preliminaries of opening the polls begins until the results are posted and the machine sealed.

Oath

Each watcher must be sworn to faithfully observe the rule of law for the conduct of election.. The oath for poll watchers is the same as that taken by poll workers.

Permissible Activities

Poll watchers may observe the conduct of the election. They may see the counters when the machine is opened in the morning and when the votes are counted at the end of the day.

Information supplied by the Alabama Secretary of State.