By Gary Lloyd
JEFFERSON COUNTY — The primary election for several political races is set for Tuesday, June 3.
The races that impact the area will all determine the Republican nomination for the various races.
The winners of the primaries at this time will not face opposition in the November general election.
The only qualifying candidate for Alabama State Senate District 15 is incumbent Republican Slade Blackwell. For Alabama State Senate District 17, candidates are Trussville’s Shay Shelnutt, Pinson’s Joe Cochran, Jim Murphree, Gayle Gear, Brett King, Adam Ritch and Jim Roberts.
For State House District 44, which covers Trussville, Clay, and Pinson, three Trussville men are the candidates. Republicans John Amari, Joe Freeman and Danny Garrett qualified to run to replace Arthur Payne, who’s retiring.
In the U.S. House of Representatives District 6 race, candidates include Scott Beason, Will Brooke, Paul DeMarco, Chad Mathis, Gary Palmer, Robert Shattuck and Tom Vigneulle.
Joe Knight, of Trussville, is the Republican incumbent and is unopposed in the race for Jefferson County Commission District 4.
Secretary of State Jim Bennett said that voters need to check for any changes made to their legislative districts as the changes from the 2012 redistricting process go into effect for the 2014 statewide elections cycle.
“The legislative district that you voted in last time may not be the same district that you will be voting on in June,” Bennett said. “Not all voters have been changed to new districts, but some have.”
Bennett said the most accurate place to check for any changes in district lines is www.alabamavotes.gov. A voter can put in personal information using the “My Polling Place and Registration Status” section and the website will show the voter which districts will be on their ballot Tuesday.
The website follows the detailed lines that were put in by the registrars themselves at the local level so it will be an accurate reflection of what voters will encounter.
“We want every voter to be an informed voter,” Bennett said. “There very well may be changes that a voter will see when they go to the polls in June so we encourage voters to check so there is no confusion when they read their ballot.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.