In three statewide Republican primary runoff races, candidates have erred in their filings of campaign finance records with the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office.
State Auditor Jim Zeigler, who is seeking the GOP nomination for secretary of state to become Alabama’s chief elections official, missed the May 23 weekly filing deadline during the primary election.
Zeigler is in the process of appealing the penalties assessed against him for violating state campaign finance law to the Alabama Ethics Commission, which will hold its next meeting on August 2.
The Office of Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill would not comment further on Zeigler’s penalties due to the ongoing appeal.
Next Tuesday, Zeigler will face off against State Rep. Wes Allen (R-Troy) for the Republican nomination for secretary of state.
Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) candidate Robert McCollum, who is vying for the seat held by Place 2 Commissioner Chip Beeker, has failed to file his weekly reports for the June 21 Republican primary runoff election.
Merrill’s office told Yellowhammer News that it “will be reaching out to his campaign about this issue.”
PSC Place 1 hopeful Brent Woodall, who previously sought election to the open state auditor’s position before dropping out of the race in favor of a seat on the state’s chief utility regulatory commission, continued to record his filings under the wrong campaign committee.
Instead of submitting his filings under his PSC campaign committee, Woodall recorded his finance filings under the office he formerly sought.
In a statement, the Secretary of State’s Office noted that Woodall would not be assessed a penalty.
“As we have previously stated, Mr. Woodall inadvertently continued using the State Auditor account to submit his filings for Public Service Commission,” advised Merrill’s office. “Due to the fact that Mr. Woodall did file timely, but used the wrong account he was not assessed any penalties and was allowed to transfer the activity to the correct account.”
Woodall is contending for the PSC seat held by incumbent Place 1 Commissioner Jeremy Oden.
When reached for comment regarding a candidate’s ability to receive the party’s nomination due to a violation of campaign finance law, the Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) noted that the Secretary of State’s Office would determine punitive actions.
“The Alabama Republican Party encourages all of its candidates to comply with all campaign finance regulations and file reports accordingly,” ALGOP said in a statement to Yellowhammer News. “Failure to do so would result in action by the Secretary of State, who would determine any disciplinary measures.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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