Perry County Commission chairman Albert Turner, Jr., has been indicted of felony and misdemeanor counts of voter fraud, according to a press release by Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill and Alabama’s Fourth Judicial Circuit District Attorney Michael Jackson released on Wednesday.
Turner has been indicted for allegedly voting multiple times and inserting multiple completed ballots into the tabulator at a polling location in Perry County in the May primary.
According to the press release, Turner has been indicted for allegedly ballot harvesting during the November general election. The indictment alleges that Turner presented multiple completed absentee ballots for mailing from the U.S. Post Office.
Jackson stated at a press conference Wednesday that he has “heard the cry from the citizens and the people running for office to clean up the elections in the Black Belt.”
Merrill said Alabama has had seven convictions of voter fraud and three elections overturned within the last eight years.
When asked if the indictment could affect the outcome of any of the elections held in May or in the general election, Secretary Merrill stated at the press conference that “it is not appropriate at this time to comment because a lot of variables that factor into that decision and these matters are currently under investigation.”
“Since January 19, 2015, we have worked extraordinarily hard to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in Alabama,” Merrill said. “While the accused is innocent until proven guilty, it is important to know that this incident, just like the other 1,805 incidents we have investigated over the last eight years, will receive the full attention of this office as we confirm for the people for the State of Alabama that we are the gold standard for election administration in the United States.”
According to AL.com, Turner’s parents were unsuccessfully prosecuted for voter fraud by then-U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions in 1985.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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