Republican candidate for Secretary of State Jim Zeigler said that the position is now the “third most important on the ballot.” Zeigler said that only the governor’s race and the U.S. Senate race are more important.
Zeigler is currently the Alabama State Auditor but is term-limited from seeking a third term.
“We have a hot race for the U.S. Senate to replace retiring Sen. Richard Shelby,” Zeigler said. “There are a slew of candidates opposing Gov. Kay Ivey. After those two, the big race is one that is normally quiet – Secretary of State.”
Zeigler pointed out that the races for Lt. Governor, State Treasurer and Agricultural Commissioner have no opposition in the May 24 Republican primary and will not even appear on the primary ballot.
Incumbent Attorney General Steve Marshall is facing a primary challenge from Harry Still III. There are also GOP primary battles for both Public Service Commission races, some congressional GOP primary battles including in the open Fifth Congressional District, and a competitive battle for Zeigler’s current office of State Auditor.
“Over the next eight years, the job of Secretary of State will be vital,” said Zeigler. “The Secretary of State is our top elections administrator. We face national attempts to manipulate honest election procedures. Alabama needs a proven fighter against government overreach to be our fighting Secretary of State. We face attempts to allow non-citizens to vote. Jim Zeigler will fight against that."
Zeigler said ensuring election integrity is the primary duty of the Secretary of State.
“Only U.S. citizens should vote in U.S. elections,” Zeigler stated. “We face efforts to change ‘election day’ to ‘election week’ or ‘election month.’ Jim Zeigler will fight against that. We need to be vigilant against those who would vote early and often. We face assaults against our requirement for photo voter ID. Jim Zeigler will fight to keep and enforce our voter ID requirements. We face ballot harvesting, same-day voter registration on election day, drive-by drop-off ballot boxes and voting by mail. A vote for Jim Zeigler is a vote against all these methods of manipulation.”
“As your State Auditor, I led the fight against waste, mismanagement and corruption. As your Secretary of State, I can apply that same approach to fight the manipulation of our elections. As your State Auditor, some people called me ‘the watchman.’ I will continue as your watchman over the election process as Secretary of State.”
Liberal groups sued a number of states, including Alabama, in an attempt to change how states voted, citing concerns about COVID-19. Those suits failed in Alabama, but in other states, like Pennsylvania and Georgia, the State Supreme Court or the Secretary of State found in favor of the liberal special interests and agreed to make changes in how those state elections were handled. Many conservatives believe that mail-in ballots, ballot harvesting, drop off ballot boxes, early voting, curbside voting, etc. damaged the integrity of the 2020 election and may have made the results, where former Vice President Joseph R. Biden (D) defeated Donald J. Trump (R), fraudulent. However, this allegation has not been proven in any court of law, and no state has officially decertified its election results. That has not dissuaded many conservative critics of the 2020 election.
“Election integrity may be the most important single issue,” Zeigler said. “The reason is this: If we lose our ability to elect or defeat officials, then all other issues will have lost accountability to the people. We would have government of the manipulators, by the manipulators and for the manipulators. A vote for Jim Zeigler is a vote against election by manipulation."
The four May 24 Republican primary candidates for Secretary of State are Wes Allen, Christian Horn, Ed Packard, and Zeigler.
Incumbent Secretary of State John H. Merrill (R) is term-limited from running for a third consecutive term.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
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