A candidate for city council in Mobile hasn’t voted in Alabama in nearly two decades, according to state records.
Samantha Ingram did vote in the presidential election last year, but she did so in Georgia, according to the secretary of state’s office in Atlanta.
In a statement to AL.com, Ingram said that in June of 2023, while living in Georgia, she bought a house in Mobile, her hometown. She said she moved into the house in Mobile last summer after doing renovations.
“During my transition, I did cast a ballot in the 2024 elections in Georgia,” Ingram said in the statement. “I have consulted legal counsel who has advised me that this vote did not affect my Mobile residency.”
Ingram, a 57-year-old former school administrator in Mobile, is in a three-person race for the District 2 council seat – which includes downtown Mobile and surrounding neighborhoods.
Her registration information shows that she remains actively registered to vote in Georgia, and lists her as a resident of Athens, Ga.
She also has an active voter registration status in Alabama under a property in Mobile, state records show. But according to the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office, she has not voted in the state since the 2006 general election. She last voted in a Mobile municipal election on Sept. 14, 2005 – nearly 20 years ago, according to state records.
Reggie Hill, one of the other candidates running for the council seat, referenced on his Facebook page a section of Alabama State law that requires anyone who runs for Mobile City Council to have lived in their district for the past 90 days, and as a resident of the city for the past year.
“With everything going on here…we can’t risk having leaders who don’t know the rules or are willing to break them for their own personal gain, in this arena,” Hill wrote on his Facebook page.
In a statement to AL.com, Hill said he wished Alabama law required more scrutiny of someone’s residency before they can qualify to run. The qualification deadline for municipal elections was June 24.
The election is on Aug. 26.
“I think we should look at this moment as a way to help us in future elections to make sure we don’t have this happen again,” he said.
There are few avenues to challenge someone’s residency ahead of an election. According to Mobile City Clerk Lisa Lambert, if questions are raised about the qualifications of a candidate, the concern should directed through a lawsuit.
Incumbent Councilman William Carroll, who is running for re-election declined to comment.
Ingram owns four properties in Mobile County, according to county records. None of them are listed as a homestead exemption. Her property in Athens, Georgia, also does not have a homestead exemption, which can be an indicator of where someone lives.
The properties have all been purchased by Ingram since 2022, records show, and two of them are located in the 2nd council district.
Ingram left Mobile in 2007, after serving as a deputy superintendent at the Mobile County Public Schools System. She was a finalist in 2009 for the superintendent’s job in Montgomery County, but withdrew her name during the interviewing process, according to media reports at the time.
She has since served as a superintendent at a school in South Carolina, and has run her own education consultancy company – SK&C Development Group – based in Georgia.
“Mobile has always been in my heart, and I knew I would return to give back to the community that shaped me,” Ingram said in her statement.
She added: “District 2 faces serious challenges which require a fresh approach. I believe in strong partnership, communication and collaboration. I am here to work tirelessly to ensure other young people will not have to leave Mobile in pursuit of their dreams.”
The questions about Ingram’s eligibility follow a list of candidates in Alabama who have had residency issues hover over them. Chief among them is U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who owns two properties in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. — including an approximately $5 million beachfront home — but claims a homestead exemption on a $271,000 house in Auburn.
In Mobile, questions were also raised about mayoral candidate and former Police Chief Paul Prine’s residency. He owns property in Saraland, and moved into a rental home in March.
To be eligible to run for Mobile mayor, a candidate must be a resident of the city for 90 days before the election, and must be a registered city voter.
Hill told AL.com the yearlong residency requirement for Mobile city council shows the importance of the position compared to mayor.
“We have a strong council, weak mayor form of government and that is why you need more time invested in the city to pursue the city council,” Hill said.
He said he would like to see the law changed to require mayoral candidates to reside in the city for one year before an election, and for city council members to live in the city for two to three years.
“It’s alarming, no matter what side you are on, that a candidate puts the people and public in a position to struggle with (interpreting) the law,” Hill said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a statement provided by Ingram after publication.
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