6am Newscast
Tuesday Novebmer 4, 2014
It is election day across the nation and here in Alabama, the polls are open from 7am to 7pm. Information about the election and polling sites are at the website alabamavotes.gov.
The race between Gov. Robert Bentley and Democrat Parker Griffith has received most of the attention leading up to Election Day in Alabama.
But the ballot also includes contested elections for constitutional offices, congressional seats and five statewide constitutional amendments.
A key question is whether Republicans can maintain their lock grip on the Alabama Statehouse. The GOP already controls every statewide office from governor on down, and winning even one could be tough for Democrats.
Republican incumbents with the exception of Attorney General Luther Strange have no opposition or face poorly funded Democratic challengers who have had difficulty getting their message across in a conservative-dominated state.
In the attorney general race, Democrat Joe Hubbard mounted a media campaign against Strange with donations from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
APR student reporter Josh Hoppenstein explains how the League of Women Voters has been working to educate the public on the issues…
The message from the League of Women Voters this year is Alabamians should do more than just watch political ads on TV. The league is a non-partisan group that works to help citizens with voter education. The league doesn’t endorse candidates. but, they do want voters to make their ballots count. Catherine Bird is the Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Alabama. She says it can be difficult for voters to know who the best candidate is purely off political ads on TV.
“It seems like we hear the same thing. You know we got ‘I’m running with the true Alabama values’ you know and they don’t say what exactly the problem they’re trying to solve and what the solution will be, or this candidate is too liberal or too conservative, but they don’t offer a solution.”
The APR news team will be providing special coverage on election night as the polls close and the results come in. For APR news, I’m Josh Hoppenstein in Tuscaloosa.
Alabamians have the opportunity to learn more about the affordable care act today. The Muscle Shoals Public Library and the Helen Keller hospital is partnering with Enroll Alabama to host aninformation session. They will be talking about the Affordable Care Act and Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment. Enroll Alabama is a nonpartisan organization whose main goal is to help Alabamians with the Health Insurance Market place. Traniesa* Caldwell is the field navigator for the Northern Alabama region for Enroll Alabama. She says that the majority of people struggle with the Affordable Care Act because they have never had health insurance before.
“Enroll Alabama is a non-profit group that helps people to understand the Affordable Care Act and we help them to navigate through the market place and understand health insurance because a lot of people who are signing up now, this is their first time having health care. So our job is to pretty much navigate them through the enrollment process and to understand the Affordable Care Act and answer any questions they may have.”
The education sessionis being held at the Muscle Shoals Public Library. The event will begin at 6:00 pm and is open to the public.
