Are Alabama Democrats Conspiring to Steal an Election?

Guest Opinion by Robert Shepherd

The law is clear, and the Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) is allegedly colluding with Albert Fitzgerald Turner to steal an election.

Collusion is a secret agreement or cooperation between two or more parties to cheat, deceive, or commit an illegal act. It involves people or groups working together in hidden ways to gain an unfair advantage or harm others, often while pretending to be independent or competing.

On July 14, 2026, I made a Facebook post titled "!!Breaking News!!"

In this post, I said,

"The nominee for the Perry County Commission District 1 Election remains Mr. Donald Bennett Sr. with a vote of 399 to 398 based on a tie-breaking vote cast by Perry County Democratic Executive Committee (PCDEC) Chairman Rev. Carlton Hogue.

PCDEC Chairman Rev. Carlton Hogue hand-delivered the recount result to the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) at 9:15 am. The recount resulted in a tie vote of 398 to 398 for Mr. Donald Bennett and Mr. Albert Turner. Alabama Code § 17-13-21 outlines that in a county-level primary election, the county executive committee chairman will decide the winner."

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1923kig1Dc/

The SDEC had from July 14, 2026, to August 5, 2026, to hold a hearing concerning the recount results, but waited until 4:59 pm on August 18, 2026, to even notify Mr. Donald Bennett Sr. about a contest hearing, 13 days after the deadline.

1. Can the Alabama Democratic Party change a County Commissioner's nominee after the 90-day deadline for the primary election contest to be over?

No, not through the primary-election contest process.

For the November 3, 2026 general election, the 90-day deadline was August 5, 2026. Alabama Code § 17-13-86 provides that if the county or state party committee did not finally determine a county-office contest by that date, the contest is automatically treated as:

• Dismissed; or
• A judgment against the contestant.

Therefore, the Alabama Democratic Party cannot continue to decide the contest after August 5 and then replace the previously certified County Commission nominee based on the contest. The Alabama Supreme Court has also recognized that party committees handling election contests exercise limited statutory jurisdiction and must follow mandatory deadlines.

https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=17-13-86

There are narrow exceptions:

• If the party actually issued its final contest decision by August 5, later paperwork might merely implement that timely decision.
• If the existing nominee later dies, resigns, or the nomination becomes genuinely vacant for another legally valid reason, the vacancy provisions—not the expired contest—may apply. For a county office, the County Democratic Executive Committee acts subject to SDEC approval and procedures. Alabama Code § 17-13-23 requires the replacement nominee to be filed no later than 76 days before the election—August 19, 2026.

https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-17/chapter-13/article-1/section-17-13-23

• A valid court order involving an independent constitutional or federal-law claim could present a different situation.

Bottom line: The party cannot use “revocation,” “vacancy,” or an amended certification merely as a disguise to keep an unresolved primary contest alive after August 5. If no final determination was made by that deadline, the contest was legally decided against the contestant, and the previously certified nominee should remain the nominee.

1. What do the State Executive Committee Bylaws say about a hearing notification?

General meeting notice: Article I, § 5(c) requires every Party committee meeting—including a contest subcommittee meeting—to be open to the public. “To the extent reasonably practicable,” notice must begin at least five days before the meeting and identify the date, time, place, and person responsible for the meeting. Notice may be given through email, text, direct mail, news media, or another method reasonably calculated to notify Democrats. 2024 Alabama Democratic Party Bylaws, pp. 7–8

https://aldemocrats.org/sites/default/files/files/2024-02/Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee – Passed February 3%2C 2024.pdf

The SDEC bylaws clearly state that they have a "five-day notification" for meeting or contest hearing notification. According to their SDEC bylaws, the meeting should have been scheduled for

Please see Mr. Donald Bennett Sr.'s post in reference to him being notified.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1JnBYY8oHT/

Please see the SDEC notification letter sent to Mr. Donald Bennett Sr. at 4:59 pm on August 18, 2026, with no date.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aZJug0c6Utzx-gPpAbejgpxdSfAlL59H/view?usp=drivesdk

1. Can the Democratic Party decide to change a nominee after the certified nominee has already been sent to the Secretary of State?

The party cannot arbitrarily disregard the primary results or revive an expired election contest.

• For a county commissioner race, an amendment generally requires:
• A timely final decision in a properly filed primary contest;
• A genuine vacancy caused by death, resignation, lawful revocation or disqualification; or
• Correction of a clerical mistake.

Important deadlines for the November 3, 2026 election:

• August 5: Last day to determine a county-office primary contest. If no final decision was made, the contest was automatically decided against the contestant under Alabama Code § 17-13-86.

https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=17-13-86

• August 19: Deadline to file a replacement for a genuine vacancy under § 17-13-23.

https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-17/chapter-13/article-1/section-17-13-23

• August 24: Seventy-one-day general nomination-finalization deadline. After that date, an amended certification may be received, but it cannot require ballot reprinting. If a candidate withdraws or is disqualified, that person’s name remains on the ballot, no replacement is printed, and votes for that person are not certified. Alabama Code § 17-6-21.

https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-17/chapter-6/article-2/section-17-6-21

• One technical correction: For a county commissioner nominee, the legally operative certification is filed with the county judge of probate—not the Secretary of State. Alabama Code § 17-9-3.

https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-17/chapter-9/article-1/section-17-9-3

Therefore, if Donald Bennett was already certified and the SDEC did not issue a final contest judgment by August 5, the party cannot legally replace him with Albert Turner by issuing a late contest decision. Calling the change a “revocation,” “vacancy,” or “amended certification” would not lawfully extend the expired contest deadline. A genuine, independently established vacancy or disqualification would be a different proceeding and would still have to comply with the applicable deadlines and procedures.

Here are a few questions to think about:

1. Why did Commissioner Albert Fitzgerald Turner and his supporters know hours before about and post on Facebook the SDEC Contest hearing scheduled on August 21, 2026, before Mr. Donald Bennett Sr. was notified?
2. Why would SDEC Chairman Senator Bobby Singleton use his first official move as the SDEC Chairman to allegedly collude with Commissioner Albert Fitzgerald Turner to steal an election from the people of Perry County?

Educate2Elevate334 #perrycountyal #accountability #transparency #progressoverpolitics #ShowTheReceipts

This opinion piece originally appeared on Facebook. It is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

Robert L. Shepherd is a retired Army officer, combat veteran, leadership consultant, independent investigative journalist, and community activist from Uniontown, Alabama.

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