UPDATE: See end of post.

That would be based on a ruling made by the Supreme Court in Washington this morning (yes, that crew in Washington). They’ve ruled that Governor Riley did not have to get Federal approval to appoint a fellow Republican to a vacant spot on the Mobile County Commission.

Justice Ginsburg’s opinion is 38 pages long, but it is important, since it is one of the primary arguments being made concerning the Jefferson County Commission District 1 seat currently occupied by Gen. Bowman. Birmingham City Councilor William Bell won a special election called in February, leading to the current court battle over who should rightfully be occupying the seat.

We’ll see how it’s received and what’s next.

UPDATE: Seems like the Governor was already thinking about that (see the official release from his office).

It seems that unless the offices of governor or president are on the ballot, most people tend to stay home on Primary Day. Eight Democratic groups in the greater Birmingham metro area are hoping to make people aware of the options that will be on the ballot come June 3 and to convince them to come out and vote, most notably for them in the race for the Senate seat currently occupied by Jeff Sessions. They will be hosting a Democratic Candidate Primary Forum at the Homewood Library next Tuesday, May 20 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

We’ll be updating the destinations calendar later on today with more details (though that link to the OTM Democrats should provide enough info to get you started).

While folks will no doubt spend the evening waiting to find out if their candidate has gained more electoral delegates in the closest this country has ever come to a national primary, we can go to bed knowing the outcome of at least one race in metro Birmingham.

UPDATED: These are the results as of 9:51 p.m.:

A quick note for those of you who have not voted as of yet today…

When you arrive at your voting location, you’ll eventually be handed a ballot. When you fill the ballot out, you must:

• Select the candidate that you’re going to vote for, and
• Select the delegates that correspond with your candidate (e.g. if you vote for Obama, don’t vote for Edwards’ delegates). You may choose no more than 8 delegates total for your candidate (that’s 4 men and 4 women). Double check before you leave otherwise your vote may not count.

Then, relax, enjoy the warm weather, and wait for the results…

Chris “Mojo” Denbow/PhotoMojo.info

A large crowd gathered on the campus of Miles College to hear a speech from former President Bill Clinton earlier this afternoon. It was one of two public appearances that Clinton made in support of his wife’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Click on the image to view more from the event.

Bob Farley/f8photo

More than 800 people showed up for Sen. John McCain’s appearance at the Sheraton hotel in downtown Birmingham on Saturday afternoon. He was introduced by his wife and U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus.

After speaking for about 30 minutes, he greeted his supporters before addressing the media directly in a series of one on-ones.

Click on the image above to view more from the event.

Dawn Smalls, Reginal Political Director of the Clinton campaign, middle, and Maurice Mercer, right, talk about handing out signs and buttons. Another volunteer, Ralph Grady, left, was also there helping out. Bob Farley/f8Photo

Hillary Clinton recently opened a Birmingham campaign headquarters at 1614 3^rd Avenue North in advance of the Democratic primaries being held on February 5 in 22 states.