Alabama State Auditor Andrew Sorrell announced Monday his plans to run for Secretary of State (SOS) to continue bolstering Alabama's election integrity after sitting SOS Wes Allen begins his push for another office.
Sorrell first served alongside Allen in the House of Representatives before the pair went to statewide offices. Now, as Allen recently announced plans to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2026, Sorrell told 1819 News that he plans to fill the seat.
While seen as a "down ballot" office, the SOS position has become more highly regarded, especially after speculations following the 2020 presidential election. The hotly-debated contest between Joe Biden and Donald Trump drew speculation and accusations of election fraud, leading to citizens taking more notice of their respective states' election process.
"When I ran for state representative, I never imagined I would ever run for anything statewide, so sometimes I look back and wonder, 'How did I get here?'" Sorrell told 1819 News. "But the reason I want to run for secretary of state is because I care about election integrity, and I think that great strides have been made under the previous administration, but I want to finish the job. We know Alabama has good elections. We vote in person on election day with a photo ID on a paper ballot, so elections are good, but they aren't perfect. And I'm not going to stop working until they are.
"I've seen a lot of Alabama races come down to just a handful of votes. [Former State Sen.] Tom Watley comes to mind; that was a one-vote loss. [State Rep.] Debbie Wood won by six votes in a runoff back in 2018; the Conecuh County sheriff's race is still being adjudicated; that was decided by one vote. So, Alabamians deserve to know that every vote that counted was a legal one."
Sorrell said he plans to pursue several measures to strengthen the state's elections, some of which have been attempted for years. Sorrell referenced legislation by State Rep. Debbie Wood (R-Valley) to audit the state's elections, which she has tried for three years in a row.
"The first thing we have to do is, we've got to get an election audit bill," Sorrell said. "You know we are the only state in the nation that does not audit our elections, and that, to me, is a pretty glaring oversight. We've been ranked the second-best state in the nation for elections; that's good. I'm not going to rest until we're number one. I think the way we get there is we start auditing our elections."
Sorrell broke fundraising records for his 2022 bid for state auditor, with ambitions to repeat the record-breaking streak during his SOS bid. He also intends to visit every county in the state during his campaign.
"One thing I'm going to do this campaign, that I didn't quite make it through when I ran for state auditor, is I'm going to hit all 67 counties," he said. "I've got a map of them printed out. I've been to 24 of them already, and I will make sure to complete it. I think it's important to have a campaign presence in every single county."
Sorrell applauded Allen's efforts in fortifying Alabama's elections and said he plans to build on that momentum to further protect voters.
"I supported Wes Allen's efforts to strengthen Alabama elections when he was a state representative," Sorrell stated. "I voted for his bills. You know, the Zuckerbucks ban on the private money coming into Alabama elections, the curbside voting ban, and most recently, last year, the ban on ballot harvesting, I supported. He's also established the Alabama voter integrity database, so we're sharing data with surrounding states and eliminating duplicates of other roles. That's a fantastic idea.
"My record as a legislator was 100% for election integrity. My record as state auditor has been pro-election integrity. I've made sure to appoint board of registrar members who care about election integrity because the secretary of state cannot register or de-register anyone from voting, only the local board of registers can do that. So, I really believe election integrity begins with the board of registrars.
Although the Alabama SOS's primary function is to oversee and certify Alabama's elections, the role extends much further, including managing government records, public documents, business records, and more.
In keeping with his reputation when he entered the auditor's office, Sorrell plans to streamline efficiency as best he can while still fulfilling his mission of strengthening election integrity.
"We want to leave the auditor's office better than we found it," Sorrell said. "One of the first things I did when I took office was refuse to take a state vehicle. I don't bill the taxpayer for my travel, and I also don't file for mileage reimbursement. I moved my staff to a different building and saved tens of thousands of dollars on rent. I also left an administrative assistant position vacant. You know what? It's been two years, and we're doing just fine without it. Maybe it's a little bit more workload for the rest of us, but we're saving the taxpayer money. So I've done things like that to make sure that we're keeping the office running very, very efficiently."
He continued, "Listen, I was DOGE in Alabama before it was cool. In any office I'm ever in, I'm going to be looking to trim the fat and save taxpayer money. Now, the secretary of state's budget is quite a bit larger than the state auditor's budget at $7.5 million. The staff is a lot larger. There are about 40 employees in the secretary of state's office; it's actually one of the larger constitutional offices. For reference, the governor only has 50. John Merrill, when he was in there, he actually was able to shrink the size of the staff from 50 down to about 40, and they ran it even more efficiently than it was run with 50. So, I'll know more when I get there, but yes, we're always looking to save taxpayers money."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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