2019 Birmingham special election

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The 2019 Birmingham special election was a city wide election held on October 8, 2019 to determine whether to renew the existing municipal property tax rate of 9.8 mills, and to fill vacancies in three Birmingham City Council seats.

The Birmingham Election Commission met in May to set a date for the city-wide referendum. Under the requirements of the Mayor-Council Act, any vacant seats on the City Council, including those held by acting appointees, also had to be filled during the city-wide election.

Candidates could submit qualifications for open Council seats between August 9 and 23. On election day, approximately 15,713 votes were recorded, approximately 10.8% of registered voters city-wide.

After polls closed, workers at three precincts mistakenly sealed the data cards from the vote scanners with the paper ballots. A court order was required to unseal those packets and retrieve the data cards, meaning that the unofficial results of the election were not available until Wednesday afternoon.

The overwhelming result of the referendum was a renewal of all three taxes for a term of 25 years. All three incumbents retained their seats. Clinton Woods and Crystal Smitherman won outright, and Wardine Alexander advanced to a run-off against Ray Brooks. She won the runoff for District 7 on November 19.

Results

Property Tax referenda

The referendum was divided into separate votes on three ad valorum taxes, first imposed in 1979, renewed for 30 years in 1991, and set to expire on September 30, 2021. The first, a 4.2 mill tax, was designated "for public school use." The second, a 2.8 mill tax, "for debt service of school bonds", and the third, also 2.8 mills, "for public school operations." The school taxes represented approximately 54% of all property tax revenues collected in the city, and then averaged about $27 million per year.

  • Proposition 1 (4.2 mills)
    • Yes 14,145 votes (90.0%)
    • No 1,568 votes (10.0%)
  • Proposition 2 (2.8 mills)
    • Yes 14,128 votes (90.0%)
    • No 1,564 votes (10.0%)
  • Proposition 3 (2.8 mills)
    • Yes 13,993 votes (89.2%)
    • No 1,696 votes (10.8%)

Birmingham City Council

References

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