Phenix City District 2 voters head to the polls for runoff election

District 2 Phenix City voters will head to the polls Tuesday to vote in the runoff election between Baxley Oswalt and Vickey Carter Johnson.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The two candidates are vying for the seat most recently held by Councilman Johnnie Robinson Jr., who passed away in August.

They both ran in a Nov. 14 election, during which Johnson got 240 of the votes cast to 225 for Oswalt and 26 for Steve Franklin. Though the top vote-getter, Johnson fell short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.

Since the election, Phenix City police have investigated claims of voter fraud and found that 80 registered District 2 voters were using business and not residential addresses, which is contrary to Alabama law that requires a voter to use his or her “domicile” when registering.

Johnson has filed suit in Circuit Court claiming that “illegal activity” occurred in the election.

Last week, Russell County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bellamy called for an investigation by the District Attorney’s Office and the Alabama Attorney General.

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Phenix City District 2 voters head to the polls for runoff election."