By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
Gov. Kay Ivey and Secretary of State John Merrill held a March 18 press conference to update the people of Alabama about several items that will be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
First, Merrill says that Gov. Ivey has moved the run-off election from March 31 to July 14, 2020.
“We encourage people to use absentee ballots for this election, given our current situation. We want to ensure the health, safety and concerns of all individuals that are under are purview, especially those involved directly in the election process. They are a paramount concern to us,” Merrill said.
However, Gov. Ivey said she would not be in favor of moving towards people having a no-excuse absentee ballot.
“I think people need a good reason to have an absentee ballot, but surely in this case we can fill in that box that says, ‘I may have an illness’,” Ivey said.
For Autauga County Commission, Dave Burns and Rusty Jacksland (GOP) will compete in the run-off for District 1. Carl Johnson and Larry Stoudemire will compete for the Democratic spot against Matt Holtzscher (GOP) in District 5.
For Elmore County Commission, Henry Hines and Kenny Holt (GOP) will compete for District 1. The Elmore County Board of Education District 6 will also feature a run-off between Brian Ward and Kitty Graham (GOP).
Some counties are also moving towards closing all businesses and bars in response to COVID-19, however Ivey says the state government is not ready to pull the trigger statewide just yet.
“This is not something that we are going to do statewide at the moment. It remains to be seen. We are hopeful that our people will voluntarily take the social distancing measures upon themselves,” Ivey said.
In terms of tests, Ivey feels that the state currently has enough resources moving forward.
“We do have enough tests and we have plenty of HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] contacts. They are sending more swabs and vials which leads me to believe we are in good shape with equipment right now,” Ivey said.
Ivey also says state beaches will remain open, but that there is a possibility that they could close.
“It’s under consideration to close the beaches. We’re exploring the efforts to protect the people of Alabama, but if we decide to make that decision it will be at a later date,” Ivey said.
Ivey gave a final message to working families in Alabama that will be dramatically affected by the outbreak of COVID-19.
“This is greatly impacting our small businesses, and if people are laid-off, their business closes, etc, they can apply for unemployment compensation through the Department of Labor. You can call them at 1-866-234-5382 or reach them online at labor.alabama.gov and get the information from there,” Ivey says.
As of March 18, there are 46 confirmed Coronavirus cases in the State of Alabama with one confirmed death.
