Republican voters in Chilton and Autauga County go to the polls Tuesday to vote for who they want to represent them in the Alabama House of Representatives.
The Alabama House of Representatives District 42 seat represents Autauga and Chilton Counties.
The seat was made vacant after State Rep. Jimmy Martin, R-Clanton, passed away after a battle with lung cancer.
Four Republicans are on today’s primary ballot.
The Republican candidates include Chilton County Commissioner Allen Caton, Chilton County Commissioner Jimmie Hardee, Van Smith and Shannon Welch.
Commissioner Hardee previously ran for the office in the 2018 Republican primary but was defeated by Martin.
The Business Council of Alabama, ALFA, and the Alabama Forestry Association has endorsed Smith.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Kennith Allison Sr. in the special general election.
The special Republican primary runoff election will be held on Nov. 5. If no runoff is necessary, then the special general election will be held on Nov. 5 instead. If a runoff is necessary, then the special general election will be Jan. 21.
Today is also the deadline for independents or minor party candidates to qualify for ballot access. All paper work, including the required ballot access petitions must be turned in to the Alabama Secretary of State’s office before 5 p.m. today. Doug Ward has been working to get ballot access in the special election as a Libertarian.
Martin represented HD42 from 1998 to 2010 and again from 2014 to his death in May.
As of the 2010 census, 48,338 people lived in HD42. The population is 82.1 percent white and 11.5 percent black.
Voters who want to participate in today’s election must bring a valid photo ID with them to the polls.
Voters must vote at the polling place to which they are assigned. Alabama has no electronic voting or same day registration so you must already be a HD42 registered voter.
(Original reporting by Ballotpedia contributed to this report.)
