Map courtesy of Jefferson County Board of Registrars
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium polling place map
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium now will serve as a polling place for residents in areas that include Trace Crossings homes east of Stadium Trace Parkway, Lakeview, Paradise Acres, the small section of Riverchase that is Jefferson County, and areas between Interstate 459 and Alabama 150 on the west side of the Alabama 150 interstate interchange.
Hunter Street Baptist Church no longer will be a polling place for Jefferson County, Alabama, or national elections, according to the Jefferson County Board of Registrars.
The church had some scheduling conflicts with this year’s elections, so voters who voted at Hunter Street Baptist in last year’s special election to fill Jeff Sessions’ U.S. Senate seat now will vote in the banquet room at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, said Barry Stephenson, chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Registrars.
That change will take effect with the June 5 primaries this year, Stephenson said.
“The county has had a very good relationship with Hunter Street Baptist for several years, and we are grateful to the church for the use of their facilities,” Stephenson said in a press release. “We understand their mission as a church and the calendar. We are glad an arrangement could be made with the city of Hoover to utilize the Hoover Met baseball stadium, which has plenty of space, plenty of parking and good access.”
The change affects about 3,800 voters who live in areas that include Trace Crossings homes east of Stadium Trace Parkway, Lakeview, Paradise Acres, the small section of Riverchase that is in Jefferson County, and areas between Interstate 459 and Alabama 150 on the west side of the Alabama 150 interstate interchange.
Prior to 2017, more than 9,000 people were registered to vote at Hunter Street Baptist Church, making it one of the busiest polling places in the county. But the voting precinct was split in 2017, beginning with the Aug. 15 special U.S. Senate election.
At that time, about 5,600 voters were shifted to the Finley Center, the new indoor center at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex. Those voters will continue to vote at the Finley Center, Stephenson said.
That includes people who live on the south side of Interstate 459 between Stadium Trace Parkway and Parkwood Road, down to Morgan Road. That area includes Russet Woods and the Brock’s Gap sectors of Trace Crossings.
All voters who are moving from the Hunter Street voting site as a result of the most recent change should receive a notification of the change through the mail, and there will be a sign at the church on election day to direct those voters to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, county officials said.
Hoover City Administrator Allan Rice said he expects the city also will move its city elections from Hunter Street to the Finley Center and Hoover Metropolitan Stadium so that most people’s voting location for city elections is the same as it is for county, state and national elections. There are some exceptions to that.
This article was updated at 2:55 p.m., with more accurate counts of the number of voters who will move from Hunter Street Baptist Church to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and the number of voters who moved from Hunter Street to the Finley Center in 2017.
