Presented by Alabama’s Locally-Owned

Health Mart Community Pharmacies

 

Good morning and Happy Election Day!

It’s rare that we do an intro GIF, but it’s Election Day and this is my newsletter. My apologies to Les Misérables purists, but we’re going a little more uplifting with the nostalgic tones of Wilson Phillips.

 

 

1. Graddick out at Pardons & Paroles

• Charles Graddick will soon resign as director of the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, the governor’s office said Monday.
• Alabama Daily News first reported Graddick’s imminent departure after multiple sources confirmed it. Later, the governor’s office responded with the letter of resignation from Graddick, dated Monday but made effective Nov. 30.
• In the letter, Graddick said that since his appointment “dramatic changes and transformations of the agency has been accomplished” and that the bureau “is in a much better condition today, with greatly improved morale and more productive work culture [sic].”
• Graddick was appointed as director after a 2018 reform law was enacted to reshape the agency and give Gov. Kay Ivey more direct oversight. Before, the Board of Pardons and Paroles picked its own director, which led a department with vague administrative oversight. The new law gave the governor the authority to appoint the director, with confirmation by the Senate, as well as the ability to remove that person from the job.
• His appointment also came with criticism from prisoner advocacy groups and criminal justice advocates. Some described his leadership style as a “bull in a China shop,” running roughshod over both career and appointed staff. This has come during a sensitive time for the Ivey administration as it attempts to move forward with a plan to enter build-and-lease contracts for three new state prisons all while continuing to navigate lawsuits regarding current prisons’ crowding and violence problems.
• Full story from Caroline Beck and me HERE.

 

2. Election Day: States to watch

• After a campaign marked by rancor and fear, Americans today decide between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, selecting a leader to steer a nation battered by a surging pandemic that has killed more than 231,000 people, cost millions their jobs and reshaped daily life.
• Nearly 100 million Americans voted early, and now it falls to Election Day voters to finish the job, ending a campaign that was upended by the coronavirus and defined by tensions over who could best address it. Each candidate declared the other fundamentally unfit to lead a nation grappling with COVID-19 and facing foundational questions about racial justice and economic fairness.
• Biden enters Election Day with multiple paths to victory while Trump, playing catch-up in a number of battleground states, has a narrower but still feasible road to clinch 270 Electoral College votes.
• Read more about what to expect and play with your own Electoral College map HERE.
• Here are the swing state polling averages from Real Clear Politics:

• People often ask me what I watch on election night to get election returns. Two places: The New York Times election dashboard, which they’ve made free tonight, and Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.com. Both places have good data and were among the first to acknowledge when things started trending toward Trump in 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A message from Alabama’s Locally-Owned

Health Mart Community Pharmacies

• Alabama’s community pharmacists are more than just the friendly faces that fill your prescriptions every month; they are an essential link in the healthcare chain.

• In rural areas, community pharmacists are often the first – and sometimes the only – healthcare contact for residents in a community.

• In addition to keeping Alabama communities healthy by filling prescriptions, most of the APCI network of community pharmacies provide vital healthcare services such as immunizations, clinical testing, and medication counseling.

• We appreciate the pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy staff members – your friends and neighbors – in our locally-owned pharmacies who go above and beyond to safely meet the healthcare needs of Alabamians.

• Find your locally-owned community Health Mart pharmacy HERE.

 

 

 

 

3. Jones runs to catch up, Tuberville relaxes

• U.S. Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama made a flurry of campaign stops Monday as the Deep South Democrat tries to avoid being swept out of office by Republican Tommy Tuberville and a red wave on Election Day.
• Jones, who is running for a full term after winning a special election three years ago, made a last-minute push to get voters to the polls as he seeks the necessary coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans to hold on to the seat. During a stop at the AFL-CIO labor union office in Montgomery, Jones brushed aside predictions that he can’t win, noting he had done so once.
• “We’ve got a tough road tomorrow. Everybody knows this. We’ve got a tough road. We’ve got to get our folks voting,” Jones said.
• Meanwhile, Tuberville held a rally in Gardendale on Sunday, which he said was his final stop of the race. Tuberville emphasized his support for Trump and said Jones does not represent the conservative voters of the state.
• Tuberville told supporters all that was left to do was go vote and send a message.
• “I’m probably going to get a haircut. I might even go hit a few golf balls. I may be sore Tuesday night when I get up on the stage at the end of the election. This is the last event I’ll attend. There is not a lot we can do other than go vote,” Tuberville said Sunday.
• Tuberville also has pointed to actions taken by Jones that he says are not in sync with the state’s conservative voters, including his February vote to remove Trump during the impeachment trial and his votes against two Trump appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Read more from Kim Chandler and see the final ads HERE.

 

 

4. Control of Senate at stake today

• Control of the Senate is a razor-close proposition in Tuesday’s election, as Republicans fight to retain their majority against a surge of Democratic candidates confronting the president’s allies across a vast political map.
• Both parties see paths to victory, and the outcome might not be known on election night.
• From New England to the Deep South, the Midwest to the Mountain West, Republican senators are defending seats in states once considered long shots for Democrats.
• Stunning amounts of cash have been flowing to Democrats from millions of Americans apparently voting with their pocketbooks; Republicans are tapping deep-pocketed donors to shore up GOP senators.
• Securing the Senate majority will be vital for the winner of the presidency. Senators confirm administration nominees, including the Cabinet, and can propel or stall the White House agenda. With Republicans now controlling the chamber, 53-47, three or four seats will determine party control, depending on who wins the presidency because the vice president can break a tie.
• Read more from Lisa Mascaro HERE.

 

 

5. Despite Zeta’s wreckage, all Alabama polling locations open

• Elections officials in the Deep South spent election eve tending to lingering problems from Hurricane Zeta and other storms that damaged buildings or left polling places without power ahead of Tuesday’s election.
• Utility companies and election officials scrambled to restore power, or make sure generators were available, at polling places in Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.
• In Alabama, Zeta caused damage along a line stretching from the southwestern to northeastern counties of the state. Multiple Alabama voting places remained without power Monday, but generators will be provided to any that still lack service on Election Day, said Secretary of State John Merrill.
• “Following the power outages caused by Hurricane Zeta, electric companies across the State of Alabama have stepped up to see that no polling place is left without power on Election Day,” Merrill said.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ivey: Graddick soon out at Pardons and Paroles

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Trump, Biden cede stage to voters for Election Day verdict

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Republicans try to reclaim Alabama Senate seat from Jones

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Control of Senate at stake as GOP incumbents face well-funded Democrats

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Despite Zeta’s wreckage, all Alabama polling locations open

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Former Alabama judge pleads guilty to theft, ethics charges

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – With CARES Act deadline approaching, some state leaders eye extension, reallocations

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Senate race tops 2020 Alabama ballot

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Legal armies ready if cloudy election outcome heads to court

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – November 2, 2020

 

AL.COM – 4 Alabama Board of Education seats on ballot

 

AL.COM – 300 Alabama National Guard troops prepared for Election Day unrest

 

AL.COM – Election vandalism: Alabama Democrat HQ egged, Biden signs stolen

 

AL.COM – Police investigate overnight anti-Trump vandalism in Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook

 

AL.COM – 331,000 absentee ballots requested in Alabama

 

AL.COM – Walmart in Alabama boards up windows ahead of election

 

AL.COM – Columnist Kyle Whitmire: Alabama faces the Tuberville Test

 

AL.COM – Attorney for Democrats: Hundreds of voters ‘disenfranchised’ in Tuscaloosa

 

AL.COM – US Senate race in Alabama: What Jones, Tuberville had to say on healthcare, COVID stimulus

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Charles Graddick to resign as director of Pardons and Paroles

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Senator Doug Jones spend day before the election campaigning

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Prattville council begins new term divided over leadership posts

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Local law enforcement prepares for ‘anything’ on Election Day

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Should voters get tested after heading to the polls?

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Tips to manage election-related stress and outbursts

 

Tuscaloosa News – Masks, precautions urged as Election Day expected to bring crowds

 

Tuscaloosa News – PHOTOS: Northport Mayor and Council Sworn In

 

Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa YMCA group adds online feature to Christmas tree sale

 

Decatur Daily – Epidemiologist: Next few weeks will be key in managing spread of COVID-19

 

Decatur Daily – Mother sentenced to 723 years for sex crimes against daughter, stepdaughter

 

Decatur Daily – Virtual auction to benefit Mental Health Association in Morgan County

 

Times Daily – Suspicious containers in downtown Tuscumbia turn out to be garbage

 

Times Daily – Lauderdale 4-H Essay Contest Deadline is Nov. 13

 

Times Daily – Group schedules Veterans Day ceremony

 

Anniston Star – Ranburne welcomes new mayor to its government

 

Anniston Star – Anniston inaugurates new council in Zinn Park ceremony

 

Anniston Star – City Council allocates cash to Oxford Health Systems ambulance service

 

YellowHammer News – Alabama’s electric utilities ensure no polling places will be without power due to Zeta on Tuesday

 

YellowHammer News – Huntsville-managed, Boeing-built ICBM tested by U.S. military for fourth time of 2020 — ‘Safe, secure, effective and ready’

 

YellowHammer News – What to look for on Tuesday’s 2020 general election ballot

 

Gadsden Times – School systems to report COVID-19 case numbers

 

Gadsden Times – Etowah County’s COVID-19 cases decline following recent spike

 

Gadsden Times – John S. Jones student’s costume leads to visit with Gov. Kay Ivey

 

Dothan Eagle – Gulf storm damage causes polling place moves, power outages

 

Dothan Eagle – The Latest: Britain to trial citywide testing in Liverpool

 

Dothan Eagle – Fountain named incoming president for Wiregrass Foundation

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Northern Greece locks down as Europe tightest restrictions

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Tennessee U.S. attorneys appoint officials to oversee vote

 

Opelika-Auburn News – 13 charged with collecting Social Security for dead people

 

WSFA Montgomery – Alabamians to select new representative for District 2

 

WSFA Montgomery – Alabamians to vote in U.S. Senate race

 

WSFA Montgomery – Crews working to restore power in Perry County

 

WAFF Huntsville – WellStone to run new mental health crisis center in Huntsville

 

WAFF Huntsville – Election Toolbox 2020: sample ballots, amendment details, where to vote and more

 

WAFF Huntsville – New Decatur City Council members sworn in; president chosen

 

WKRG Mobile – MPD prepared for the possibility of civil unrest following the presidential election results

 

WKRG Mobile – More than half of registered voters in NW Florida cast ballots before Election Day

 

WKRG Mobile – City to remove ‘Trump 2020’ street painting that appeared overnight

 

WTVY Dothan – Flowers: Biden will win—or rather Trump will lose

 

WTVY Dothan – The City of Ozark swears in new leadership

 

WTVY Dothan – “They’re not following the guidelines, by any means.” Former Seminole County School nurse speaks out after dismissal

 

WASHINGTON POST – The million-dollar question on the election’s eve: Who is left to vote?

 

WASHINGTON POST – Officials prepare for the unpredictable as a tense Election Day arrives

 

WASHINGTON POST – As the U.S. votes, the world watches with anxiety and hope

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Undeterred by Pandemic, Americans Prepare to Deliver Verdict on Trump

 

NEW YORK TIMES – As Voting Nears End, Battle Intensifies Over Which Ballots Will Count

 

NEW YORK TIMES – As Election Day Arrives, Trump Shifts Between Combativeness and Grievance

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Tense Campaign Between Trump and Biden Reaches Election-Day Climax

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Stock Futures Rise Heading Into Election Day

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Vienna Shooting Kills Four, Injures Several in Terrorist Act

 

 

 

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