The votes have all been counted and the results have been posted. After Ragland had only 261 registered voters to cast a vote in the June primary, citizens in the small community decided enough was enough.In an effort to get more registered voters to the polls July 15 in Ragland, citizens of the town banded together and went all out to make sure their voices were heard in electing the county’s new district judge.
In this race, the citizens won. There were 505 registered voters that came out to the municipal building in Ragland to cast their ballot.
A never-before-seen campaign to increase voter turnout started before the election and offered incentives for Ragland voters such as:
O Free lemonade.
O Show the “I Voted” sticker and receive a 12-ounce pack of Gwaltney red wieners free from the Food Barn.
O Bring the “I Voted” sticker to Sam’s Food Market and receive 10 percent off the grocery purchase, minimum of $50 purchase.
O Those who voted were able to sign up for a cash drawing which was held last Saturday with Sarah Brown winning $100.
And the results of the campaign are undisputed. While Ragland is one of the smallest municipalities in St. Clair County, they had more to vote July 15 than Ashville and Odenville combined (370). They also had more voters than Springville (310).
Ragland citizens cast more votes than voters in Steele, Poplar Springs, Gum Springs, Cook Springs, Shoal Creek, Wolf Creek, Pinedale Shores, Chandler Mountain and Greasy Cove all combined (463).
They almost had as many votes as Moody (514).
Ragland Mayor Gary Daffron said it was probably one of the most exciting days during an election in a long time at Ragland.
“There was a steady flow of voters all day long,” Daffron said. “We were very impressed with the results. We wanted the best and worked hard to get as many people out to vote as possible.”
Daffron said there were people voting at the closing of the polls.
“This was just a fantastic effort by everyone involved,” he said. “People really worked to make this happen. I’m very proud of the citizens, merchants and volunteers. We are very proud of the results.”
The one race up for grabs July 15 was the new district judgeship run-off between Robert Minor and Sarah Brazzolotto.
In the June primary, 261 Ragland voters cast votes. Brazzolotto received 172 votes to 43 for Minor. In the run-off, Brazzalotto gathered 391 votes to 114 for Minor.
When asked if he thought the voters would continue to come out and be as interested in the upcoming election concerning the mayor and council for the Town of Ragland, Daffron said there is no question this will continue in every election.
“I hope we have started a trend for St. Clair County and the state,” Daffron said. “I think it was unique and it worked. We are elated with the results.”
Last week, when St. Clair County Probate Judge Wallace Wyatt Jr. was contacted about the campaign to increase voter turnout in Ragland, he said it sounded like the citizens of Ragland were attempting to get more people to come out and vote and that’s it.
“It is something new,” Wyatt said. “I’ve never heard of anything like this. If everything is on the up and up, we may be on to something.”
Telephone calls to the Attorney General’s Office for an opinion on the tactic used to increase voter turnout were not returned as of press time Tuesday.
