Voters discuss today’s ongoing election
Madison City Hall is one voting location for Madison residents. For information on all locations in Madison, visit http://www.madisonal.gov/index.aspx?NID=756.
Voter turnout appears to be lower at this point than during municipal elections last month, but those at the polls still have opinions about the amendment up for vote. Residents have until 7 p.m. to vote whether to transfer roughly $437 million from the Alabama Trust Fund to the General Fund over three years.
“I think it’s ridiculous you have to vote like this in the middle of to elections, and nobody really knows what’s going on,” said a voter outside Madison City Hall who did not want to be identified. “This issue should have been taking care of during the legislature’s session. We shouldn’t be voting to take money from the reserve fund to fund our state government. That’s my opinion. And you put this between your city elections and national elections, and you don’t even have a thing (sign) out here that says vote here. … This is what they (politicians) want – a low turnout,” he said.
He said he voted no against the amendment on the ballot. “That money is put aside for rainy days,” he said. “It’s put aside for when you really have an emergency.”
The state should make cuts instead of using money from the trust fund, he said. “They’re afraid to make cuts that somebody’s going to howl and scream about,” he said. “They can cut the state budget and take care of this and not have nobody hurt.”
He said the government has enough money. “The City of Madison’s budget is fat,” he said. “The state government is fat. They can cut the fat. It’s not that they don’t have the money. They just don’t want to cut programs.”
Elroy Walker voted yes, but he did agree there were not a lot of people at the polls.
“There is no line to stand in, Walker said. “It made it easy to vote. They said it’s been slow but steady, so that’s a good thing.”
Walker voted yes for the amendment. “I don’t see a problem with continuing with funding healthcare for moms and children. … I don’t have a problem with keeping prisoners in prison their full term of sentence. I don’t have a problem with that at all, so it’s a good thing I think.”
While Walker voted yes, he doesn’t think operating the state from a general fund is ideal. “The pressure of taxes on the people and property taxes are always an issue, but things need to get taken care of,” Walker said. “I’ve never agreed that the general fund is the way to take care of those things, there should be other legislative things in place as opposed to just a general fund.
