Wes Allen says that Alabama is "Serious about Election Integrity"

On Wednesday, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said that the arrest and indictment of Terry Andrew Heflin of Clay County, Alabama for felony absentee ballot fraud sends the message that we are serious about election integrity.

"I have been traveling this state and talking about absentee ballot application fraud and absentee ballot election fraud for years," said Allen. "I have been clear from day one that I take election fraud seriously, and I was not kidding. When my office was made aware of what was happening in Clay County, we immediately referred the case to Attorney General Marshall for criminal prosecution. Let this case of felony voter fraud be a signal to all those contemplating breaking Alabama election law that it will not be tolerated in this state. We will find you and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Terry Andrew Heflin, age 45, of Clay County has been charged with ­seven felony counts of absentee ballot fraud. If convicted, Heflin could face several years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. The indictment alleges that Heflin falsified applications to vote absentee for multiple people and then used those people's names to vote for himself by absentee ballot. Each count of unlawful use of an absentee ballot is a Class C felony punishable by 1 year and 1 day to 10 years in prison. Following the indictment by the Clay County grand jury, Heflin turned himself in to the Clay County Sheriff's Office and is currently being held at the Clay County jail.

Heflin won the Democratic party runoff over Beverly Hill for District 5 Commissioner race back in June. He was set to face Republican Robert Schoggins in November' but these charges obviously now overshadow that election.

"Alabama law provides strong protections for our elections and imposes penalties on those who violate the law," said Secretary Allen. "We will continue to refer cases of election fraud to the Attorney General for criminal prosecution."

The Alabama Gazette has reached out to the Alabama Democratic Party to see if they have plans to replace Heflin on the November ballot with Ms. Hill. They have not commented.

Secretary Allen thanked his staff, the Alabama Attorney General's office, and the local law enforcement in Clay County for their work to investigate and prosecute this case of alleged election fraud.

"All parties involved did an excellent job preparing and securing a felony election fraud indictment," said Secretary Allen. "Because of the work of our team at the Secretary of State's office, Attorney General Marshall's team, and the local law enforcement in Clay County, Alabama elections are safer and more secure."

An indictment merely means that prosecutors presented enough evidence to the grand jury that the grand jury felt that a trial is in order. Heflin will have his opportunity to present a defense in court before a jury of his peers and is presumed innocent until actually convicted.

Wes Allen is Alabama's 54th Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is Alabama's Chief Elections Official. Additionally, Alabama law gives the Secretary of State more than 1,000 different duties. To learn more about the Secretary of State and his responsibilities and duties visit http://www.sos.alabama.gov.

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