A Russell County grand jury has indicted three individuals on a combined 33 counts related to absentee election crimes, including 13 felony counts and 20 misdemeanor counts.

The indictments follow the arrests of the three individuals in August on charges of absentee ballot harvesting.

“The actions of this grand jury reflect Alabama values and send a clear message to anyone considering breaking Alabama election law – neither the Secretary of State nor the people of Alabama will tolerate election fraud,” Secretary of State Wes Allen said.

Allen thanked the Phenix City Police Department and Russell County District Attorney’s Office for their work on the case.

“We will continue to identify violations of Alabama election law, refer them to law enforcement, and see to it those who break the law are held fully accountable,” Allen said.

Last month Secretary Allen announced that his office removed 186 noncitizens registered to vote in Alabama, using the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program.

Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].