Alabama town that hasn’t held elections in decades sued to allow voting

The town of Newbern, Alabama, has not had a political election in the last several decades. But that could all change this November if a new motion is successful.

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF), an organization that focuses on racial and civil rights, along with an Alabama-based private law firm, filed a preliminary injunction to force Newbern, a town of about 133 people, to hold elections and allow its citizens to vote for the first time in years.

Related: Alabama bans DEI in schools and says bathrooms must be designated by ‘biological sex’

The town, about an hour and a half away from Montgomery, captured national attention last summer, after white officials had refused for three years to allow Patrick Braxton, the first Black mayor in Newbern’s history, to exercise his mayoral duties.

Newbern is about 80% Black and 20% white, but the town’s leadership, with the exception of Braxton and his town council, has been majority white for years. The defendants in the lawsuit, including the previous mayor and council, have refused to hold elections.

“[They’re] so stuck in their ways and don’t want nothing else for the town. They just want it to stay the same,” Braxton said last year. “I hope they break and just go ahead and release everything to me. If not, we’ll just go to court.”

Braxton assumed office by default in 2020 when he filed for office and no one else, including the incumbent, did the same. Previous Newbern mayors had also been appointed or ran unopposed, with several of the officers serving in the position for more than 10 years. Many residents did not know they were allowed to have elections.

The LDF lawsuit builds on a previous one filed last year, which alleged that white officials had manipulated the political process for years to maintain their power in the majority Black town. The defendants, listed as former mayor Haywood “Woody” Stokes III and his town council, held a secret, special election, preventing Braxton from appointing his town council. During their special election, the previous town council re-elected themselves, and ultimately reappointed the previous town mayor. They were aided, the lawsuit alleges, by the town’s bank and clerk. Newbern has effectively had two mayors since 2020.

Though the white officials have not recognized his position, Braxton has continued trying to serve as mayor, using his own funds to host events and food distribution drives.

The LDF suit aims to give all citizens in the town an opportunity to vote – something that would be history making.

“For decades, officials in my town have excluded me and other voters from participating in elections and having a say in what happens here,” Braxton said in a statement provided by the LDF. “Voting is not a privilege; it is a responsibility in helping to shape the direction and priorities of our community. We want to ensure our voices are heard and votes are counted. We ask the courts to enforce elections in Newbern this November so that we can cast our ballots and actively participate in the democratic process.”