Hendricks County, Indiana

Voters in the Birmingham metro area head to the polls Nov. 3 to decide county, legislative, judicial and congressional races in Jefferson and Shelby counties. Most county offices are uncontested, but notable contests include Jefferson County Sheriff, where incumbent Mark Pettway (D) faces Jacob Reach (R), and Shelby County Sheriff, where John Samaniego (R) faces Antonio Weatherly (D). Other contested races span county commission, tax offices, coroner and school board seats.

Statewide and district races include U.S. House contests for Alabama's 6th and 7th districts, featuring incumbents Gary Palmer (R) and Terri Sewell (D), plus several Alabama Senate and House seats split between the two counties.

A Texas woman's domestic violence case sat unprocessed for nearly a year after a technical glitch prevented it from reaching the Brazoria County District Attorney's Office. Brittanni Hendricks filed reports with the Iowa Colony Police Department in July 2025, and investigators believed they had submitted the case to the DA's office by November 2025. The county's case-submission system, however, does not notify police departments once a filing is received, and the case never actually went through.

The error wasn't discovered until September 2026, when Hendricks followed up with law enforcement. Police said it was the first such failure in the department's history and resubmitted the case directly. Hendricks said the delay caused significant financial, emotional, and professional strain, and she argued the episode reflects broader systemic failures that discourage domestic violence survivors from coming forward. After media inquiries, a Brazoria County prosecutor contacted her to confirm the case is now moving forward. The DA's office has not said whether other agencies' cases were similarly affected.