Terry Andrew Heflin, 45, the Democratic candidate for District 5 of the Clay County Commission, has been charged with seven counts of voter fraud with unlawful use of absentee ballots, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Wednesday.
The indictment against Heflin alleges he falsified applications to vote absentee for multiple people and used their names to vote for himself by the ballot.
Each count is punishable by one year and one day to 10 years in prison.
The alleged fraud took place in the March 5 primaries.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said Heflin’s arrest should be a warning to other Democrats.
“I have been traveling this state and talking about absentee ballot application fraud and absentee ballot election fraud for years,” Allen said in a written statement, according to Alabama Daily News.
“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.”
According to jail records, Heflin turned himself into the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division.
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The arrest comes as the state defends its new law putting increased restrictions on absentee ballot applications.
“I’m proud of the Legislature’s efforts to safeguard the integrity of Alabama’s elections,” Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter said on X Wednesday in response to the arrest.
“We have a very important election coming up in November, and I have full confidence that it will be safe and secure in the great state of Alabama.”
According to court records, Heflin pleaded guilty in 2021 to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, with two years to serve.
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