Hill remains on the ballot for primary

LAUDERDALE COUNTY - Jerry Hill has asked that his name be removed from the Democratic Party primary ballot on June 3 to clear up any possible confusion about his candidacy for Lauderdale County school superintendent.

Chances are, however, there will still be some questions on election day.

Despite his request to have his name removed, Hill will remain on ballots because they have already been printed and shipped to the Lauderdale County Courthouse.

His written request to the county's party chairman, John Harris, however, will allow election officials to reprogram voting machines so votes cast for Hill in the superintendent's race won't be counted.

Election and Democratic Party officials in the county say it's the best solution to a strange set of circumstances involving the superintendent's race.

At present, Hill does not meet qualifications to be a school superintendent in Alabama, lacking an education administration certification that he says will be cleared up in late June when he passes the state certification test. He said he has completed all necessary classwork to earn the certificate but missed the scheduled certification test while tending to his mother who was ill and later died. The test will be given again in late June and he plans to take it then.

Hill said he will continue to seek the superintendent's office as an independent candidate during November's general election.

"I'm told my name could have stayed on the ballot (and the votes would have been counted), but I don't want any confusion and want to keep everything legal," said Hill, a teacher and head football coach at Brooks High School. "In November, after I've finished my (administration certification), everything will be in good order and unquestionably legal for me to be placed on the ballot as an independent candidate.

"My goal is making sure I'm doing what's right. By waiting, my qualifications won't be in question."

Hill was to have faced incumbent Billy Valentine in the June 3 primary. With the primary votes not counting, Valentine will automatically become the Democrat nominee, according to Harris.

Had Hill opted to have the votes in the June primary counted, he would have risked a challenge had he defeated Valentine.

State law allows any voter who participates in the primary to contest the election results if it's determined that a candidate was not qualified for the position.

Valentine said he would not have filed a challenge in that scenario, but election officials said it would be likely that someone would have done so.

"Mr. Hill has sent me a written request to withdraw his candidacy for the Democratic primary, so now we don't have to worry about a challenge," Harris said. "This is now an uncontested race and Billy Valentine will be the Democratic nominee."

Valentine said he had hoped the situation would have been handled differently.

"(The Lauderdale Democratic committee) didn't ask for my preference in having the name removed from the ballot," Valentine said. "I'd have preferred to just run the race (with Hill's name on the ballot) and let the people decide the nominee."

He said he will continue his campaign as planned.

Republican Scott Jones is unopposed in his party's primary and also will advance to the November ballot.

Alabama law states it's a misdemeanor crime, punishable by a $250 fine, for a candidate to allow his or her name to be placed on a ballot if they are not qualified to hold the seat. District Attorney Chris Connolly said if someone challenges the qualification of a candidate, an investigation would be conducted and a grand jury would ultimately determine if charges would be filed.

Probate Judge Dewey Mitchell, who is in charge of conducting elections in the county, said it would cost the county several thousand dollars to reprint the Democratic primary ballot. Beyond the expense, he said there would not be enough time to print new ballots and have them delivered before the voting machines are taken to the county's voting precincts next week.

Mitchell said he is trying to meet with company officials who provide the ballots and computer programming. He said he will ask them to reprogram the voting machines in the county so all votes cast in the superintendent's race won't be counted.

"The election is less than two weeks away, so they will be pressed to get it done," Mitchell said.

Harris said local party officials do not have the responsibility of checking candidate qualifications, but he agrees some changes need to be made to better monitor the situation.

Hill has said frequently during the past week that he's responsible for the mix-up, but he also said changes are needed to prevent similar situations from arising in the future.

"Hopefully, some of the laws that have been so confusing and led up to all this will be straightened out," he said. "This certainly seems to have gotten everyone's attention."