Thanks to a landslide victory in the June 5 primary election, it is four years down and now at least four more years to go for Chilton County Coroner Aaron Ellison.

“It’s a very humbling experience,” Ellison said of his triumph.

Ellison secured his win with 5,859 votes, more than double the 2,841 votes for opposing candidate Jim Shannon.

“We look forward to continuing to serve the people here,” Ellison said. “I had promised them that if they would give me four more years, that I will continue to stand by them and to serve them … and I look forward to fulfilling that promise.”

Ellison said several beneficial changes are in store for the coroner’s office this term, and the path to their fulfillment is already paved.

“One thing, is the (state) Department of Forensic Science is going all digital here later on this year, which is going to allow the coroners to have quicker access to records, such as autopsy reports, toxicology or reporting,” he said.

Waiting for the generation and distribution of hardcopies will no longer be a problem for the coroner’s office, allowing for speedier correspondence with families of the deceased, who might otherwise have waited up to six months for a report.

Ellison has already been briefed on the new digital system and registered Chilton County with the state Department of Forensic Science to install the system when it goes online.

A goal to improve the county morgue and coroner facilities with the help of the Chilton County Commission is another aim for Ellison this term. The improvements, he said, will hopefully “make a better atmosphere for serving the families that, unfortunately, are faced with having to deal with the coroner’s office.”

“It’s just like I said in my campaign: the office of coroner [is] not sitting behind a desk, it’s not going to Montgomery to serve, it’s not going even to the courthouse down here,” Ellison said. “It’s just serving family by family, case by case. And that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”