Fort Deposit council election results annulled
Circuit Judge Cleveland Poole delivered his decision Monday, Oct. 6 after hearing final evidence on Oct. 1 in Town of Fort Deposit’s case against newly-elected councilman Steven Thigpen. The final order issued around 3 p.m. nullified results from the town’s recent council election without assigning next steps for filling the two vacant town council seats.
Citing the Code of Alabama Section 11-46-71, Poole decided to annulled Aug. 26 election results after finding Thigpen and Fort Deposit Mayor Jacquelyn Boone had witnessed 412 of the 484 absentee ballots cast. Disallowing those ballots left Thigpen without the needed votes to win the seat and Poole acknowledged that there was no way to know how many of the remaining 72 absentee ballots were cast for Thigpen.
In this particular instance, giving the [Thigpen] the credit for every vote that was not an illegal vote (although there is no way to know that he got that many votes), he comes in fourth in the race, with candidate [Debbie] Webb receiving the most votes, followed by [Yvonne] Jones and [Willa] Perdue,” Poole ordered. “By taking away the illegal votes, Defendant Thigpen’s total votes become less than the number of votes needed for the election.”
Attorneys Arlene Richardson, representing the town, and Michael Strickland, counsel for Thigpen, did not immediately respond to requests for comments. Richardson did say, however, that it is not yet clear if the town will hold another election.
https://www.lowndessignal.com/2025/10/06/fort-deposit-council-election-results-annulled/