CENTRE — Attorneys in the case of possible illegal absentee ballots in the Cedar Bluff municipal election were notified Thursday morning that their case will be heard at 10:30 a.m. Monday in Gadsden. 

Etowah County Circuit Judge William H. Rhea was assigned the case by the Alabama Supreme Court after all three Cherokee County circuit judges recused themselves, citing the involving of Centre attorney Evan Smith. Smith is a candidate for town council and one of the named defendants.

Three candidates for municipal office sued the town and their election opponents last month in Cherokee County Circuit Court to stop a run-off election scheduled for Oct. 7. In their lawsuit they cite concerns over the possible mishandling of absentee ballots.

Centre attorney J. Shane Givens is representing Jimmy Wallace, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor, and town council candidates Billie Burkhalter and Lenora McWhorter. Burkhalter ran for reelection to her seat as the District 1 representative. McWhorter faced Donald Sanders for the District 2 spot.

As required by law in an election challenge, the lawsuit names the town of Cedar Bluff, along with mayoral candidates Ethel Sprouse and Steve Lay, District 1 candidates Smith and Tim Miller, and District 2 candidate Donald Sanders as defendants.

Specifically, the plaintiffs claim that “38 absentee ballots were cast in the General Election,” of which four “were spoiled and not counted.” Another ballot was not counted “for reasons that are presently unknown.” Three other ballots were allegedly cast by non-residents of Cedar Bluff.

Of the remaining absentee ballots, a majority was “picked up from the town clerk's office by agents of certain candidates,” instead of being mailed or hand-delivered to individuals wishing to vote absentee, the plaintiffs charge. Such actions would violate the state of Alabama's election laws.

According to the lawsuit, former Cedar Bluff Town Clerk Mary Shaner, who currently works as a secretary for District 1 candidate Smith, and Glenda Smith, the candidate's wife, witnessed multiple ballots. Becky Sanders, wife of District 2 candidate Sanders, also handled over a dozen absentee ballots in the weeks before the election.

Others who witnessed multiple ballots were town clerk DeLana Martin and local notary publics Debbie Shaw and Penny Scott.

The plaintiffs assert that if the 27 votes they consider to be illegal are thrown out,  Burkhalter would win her District 1 race outright instead of facing Smith in a runoff.

In District 2, McWhorter and Sanders are scheduled to face each other in the runoff. The 15 absentee votes Sanders received gave him a nine-vote edge over McWhorter (43-34), who only received three absentee votes. If the absentee ballots are disallowed, McWhorter would win the council seat by three votes (31-28).

In the race for mayor, the runoff is between Lay and Sprouse. With the absentee votes removed, however, Wallace would move into second place by three votes and face Sprouse.

Sprouse, Sanders and Smith have all filed motions seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed. However, Judge Rhea’s order for a hearing deals only with the plaintiffs’ request to inspect the absentees. In the two-page order, Rhea declared that “plaintiffs complied with the statutory requirements as to requesting said inspection.”

Rhea also ordered that no ballots be transported to his courtroom in Gadsden.