Author

Chip Brownlee

Chip Brownlee is a former political reporter, online content manager and webmaster at the Alabama Political Reporter. He is now a reporter at The Trace, a non-profit newsroom covering guns in America.

Election FAQ: Things you need to know before you vote

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to vote for a number of local, state and national elected offices. Before you go, take a look at this FAQ to make sure you’re updated on what you need to know before you vote. What’s on the ballot? More than a dozen statewide elected offices will be … Continued

Chip Brownlee

November 5, 2018

Report: Though improving, Alabama remains one of country’s most corrupt states

Alabama has been ranked again as one of the country’s most corrupt states, according to a new survey conducted by Illinois State University’s Institute Corruption Studies, though the ranking this year is a major improvement from last year. The new survey lists Alabama as the fifth-most corrupt state in terms of illegal corruption — or … Continued

Chip Brownlee

November 1, 2018

Maddox: Next week’s election is winnable with high Democratic turnout

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walt Maddox told a crowd gathered at Auburn University Monday night that next week’s election is winnable if he and other Democrats are able to garner turnout similar to that in last year’s special election for U.S. Senate. Speaking to the Auburn University College Democrats, Maddox said his campaign’s internal data and … Continued

Chip Brownlee

October 30, 2018

Republicans continue to outraise Democrats with a week to go

The final batch of mandatory weekly campaign finance filings shows Republicans continuing to outraise Democrats in all but two of the major statewide races with only a week to go until voters head to the polls on Nov. 6. Republicans dominated Democrats in the races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state, … Continued

Chip Brownlee

October 30, 2018

In recording, Maddox seems to acknowledge Soros donations

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox seems to acknowledge receiving donations from billionaire Democratic donor George Soros in a short recording released by Gov. Kay Ivey’s re-election campaign Wednesday. In the recording, Maddox can be heard saying, “I was glad that we did.” Following his event this week at the University of Alabama, Walt Maddox was asked by … Continued

Chip Brownlee, Brandon Moseley

October 25, 2018

Report: 146,000 Alabamians with pre-existing conditions could lose coverage, see premium increases

Note: This piece was originally published in October 2018. As many as 146,000 people in Alabama who have pre-existing conditions and purchase their health insurance coverage through the individual market could see premium increases or lose their coverage if the Affordable Care Act is overturned in court, according to a new report from the House … Continued

Chip Brownlee

October 24, 2018

Neither gubernatorial candidate has taken any Soros money so far

Weekly campaign finance filings submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office Monday show neither gubernatorial candidate, Republican Kay Ivey nor Democrat Walt Maddox, have taken any money from PACs that received contributions from Democratic donor George Soros. Soros’ contributions to a set of six chain PACs chaired by Tuscaloosa political heavyweight Mike Echols became an … Continued

Chip Brownlee

October 23, 2018

Republicans outraise Democrats in every key statewide race

Republican candidates are outraising their Democratic opponents in every key statewide race, the second weekly filings ahead of the 2018 general election show. Governor In the race for governor, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey reported raising $193,293.14 last week, nearly doubling the contributions received by her Democratic challenger Walt Maddox, who raised $105,113 last week. Ivey … Continued

Chip Brownlee

October 23, 2018

Emails show Ivey, staff used private Gmail and iCloud accounts in Lieutenant Governor’s Office

Emails provided to the Alabama Political Reporter show Gov. Kay Ivey and her top advisers used personal email accounts like Gmail and iCloud to conduct official business while Ivey was serving as lieutenant governor. Dozens of emails released to APR in response to allegations made by Democratic candidate Walt Maddox this morning show Ivey and her staff, including her … Continued

Chip Brownlee

October 22, 2018

Alabama one of country’s least politically engaged states

Alabama is one of the United States’ least politically engaged states, according to a new report that analyzed voter registration, past voter participating and political contributions ahead of the Nov. 6 general election. Alabama ranked as the 3rd least politically engaged state, according to the analysis conducted by WalletHub. The analysis compared the 50 states … Continued

Chip Brownlee

October 22, 2018