Alabama party mistakenly taps dead man for panel

[October 15, 2009]  MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- Reynolds Smith Jr. was a stalwart Democratic voter in Alabama. But the Alabama Democratic Party overlooked another fact when it appointed Smith to an interim party panel: He died in November at age 83.

Party executive director Jim Spearman told the Press-Register on Tuesday that the mistake was caused by outdated records.

He said the party received Smith's name from a 2006 list of candidates for the Mobile County committee and then used a voter list to verify him as an active voter.

The panel was charged with replacing the local party's executive committee.

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Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister/

[Associated Press]

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