2024 Election Update: Challenges, Disqualifications, and the Power of Your Vote

Happy New Year to all! We are only about a week or so into the new year and it’s already shaping up with memorable moments from comedian Katt Williams’s explosive interview with sports commentator Shannon Sharpe to the Alabama Crimson Tide’s shocking loss in the Alabama Semi-finals. Additionally, 2024 is an election year. Not only are we electing a president, but on the ballot nationwide, 33 of 100 U.S. Senate seats, 435 U.S. House of Representatives seats, 11 state governor seats, and a swath of statewide and local elected seats are all up for grabs in this election. It’s no different here in Dallas County. For us, in addition to the President and Vice President, we will also have the opportunity to elect national and statewide offices such as the U.S. Representative, Circuit Clerk, Circuit Court Judge, and a representative to the State Board of Education. Locally, we have several positions up for election—Probate Judge, County Commission, Board of Education, and Constable. 

In past years, the local process for qualifying for elected office has usually been a seamless effort. However, for some, these last few weeks have been anything but. Recently, local media reported on seven candidates who were disqualified from the 2024 Primary Election ballot. Those seven include one candidate for Dallas County Commission District 4, one candidate for Dallas County Board of Education (BOE) District 2, and five candidates for Constable. Their disqualification comes by the order of the office of the Alabama Secretary of State and the Alabama Ethics Commission. Their reasoning is that those candidates failed to comply with a state law that requires all candidates to submit a Statement of Economic Interest form (SEI) with-in five days of qualifying for office. Two of the seven filed late, while the remaining did not file at all. 

Upon our notice that those candidates were disqualified, we immediately began contacting those affected to inform them of the events. I also started constant contact with Dallas County Probate Judge Jimmy Nunn and the office of the Alabama Ethics Commission. Additionally, the full Dallas County Democratic Executive Committee met in an emergency session that same day. In that session, we voted to restore six of the seven candidates to their positions, due to a state law that allows the political party to nominate candidates in the event that an office becomes vacant prior to the primary election. Six out of the seven (Dallas County BOE and Constable offices) all qualified without opposition, but the position of Dallas County Commission, District 4 has other candidates, which ultimately kept us from extending that courtesy. After submitting the necessary documents to the Probate Judge’s office, we received a response from the Secretary of State’s office rejecting our request. Their rejection was cited with a state law that reads candidates who were disqualified are unable to be restored to office, and another state law that reads all nominations needed to have been sent in 76 days before the election. We were unfortunately notified 68 days prior to. 

While the reasoning and intent for the Alabama Ethics Commission choosing to follow this law is extremely sketchy and should be investigated by the people, we realize that they are in their legal right to do so. With that realization, I have contacted each candidate to inform of these 

findings and offered to them next steps. It is an extremely unfortunate situation at least 200 candidates statewide—both democrats and republicans. In an earlier article, a statewide newspaper reported that the process of disqualifying for failing to file the SEI form (within the five day window) has not always been enforced. So why this is happening now after all this time is a mystery that deserves to be solved and our people deserve answers. 

Finally, as we prepare to elect and re-elect leaders in this 2024 election cycle, it is imperative that we remain vigilant and elect leaders that we can hold accountable. Keep in mind that every election matters. A law such as this that wholly disqualifies candidates for failure to file a simple document can always be changed, just like any law we have. We have the power to make whatever change we want, and that power comes from the vote we cast in the ballot box. I implore you all to ensure that you are registered to vote. Check on your family and friends to ensure the same. If they are unable to vote on election day, then talk to them about the absentee voting process. Your vote is your voice, and we must do all we can to save it and raise it as loud as we can. The deadline to register to vote is Monday, February 19th and the deadline to register for an absentee ballot is Tuesday, February 29th. Let’s do all we can to ensure we turn out the vote for March 5th.