The Alabama Democratic Party has ordered a recount in the Perry County Commission District 1 Democratic primary. Following this order, the Perry County Democratic Executive Committee set an $8,500 security deposit that challenger Albert Turner Jr. must post up front before the recount can officially move forward.
In a four-page decision, the State Democratic Executive Committee drew a sharp distinction between two different legal filings governed by two different deadlines:
-
The Election Contest (Dismissed): A formal contest of a county nomination must be filed within 24 hours of the canvass under Section 17-13-80 of the Alabama Code. Because Turner’s formal contest was dated May 29, it was rightfully dismissed for missing this narrow window.
-
The Recount Request (Upheld): Under Section 17-16-21, a proper request for a recount has a more lenient 48-hour deadline. Turner submitted this request on May 26—the exact day the canvassing board certified the results—making it timely.
The state committee also ruled that Turner’s recount request was properly delivered. He gave it to Probate Judge Carlton Hogue, who simultaneously serves as the chairman of the Perry County Democratic Executive Committee—the exact body designated by state law to receive primary recount requests.
The $8,500 fee is an estimate of the actual cost to conduct the recount, which state law dictates must be kept to a minimum using county personnel or volunteers. If the recount alters the precinct totals enough to change the election outcome, it becomes grounds for a further election contest. If that contest successfully flips the election, the county must bear the cost and refund the money.
Turner viewed the decision as validation, stating he intends to post the bond without delay via cash or cashier’s check. Conversely, Hogue publicly disagreed with the state’s logic, questioning how a recount could be granted when the formal contest was ruled late. Hogue also repeated a serious allegation raised by the county party’s attorney: that Turner submitted a falsified document with his appeal, an accusation Turner has not directly addressed.
The actual recount process will not be conducted entirely by hand. Under Alabama law, the ballots will be run through freshly retested tabulation equipment. The only ballots counted by hand will be those that were accepted in the original election but get rejected by the machine during the recount. Representatives from both political sides are permitted to oversee that manual process.
For now, Donald Bennett remains the certified Democratic nominee for District 1. Because no Republican qualified to run for the seat, the winner of this primary is on track to take office after the November general election. Bennett was certified on June 1 after the initial count gave him 398 votes to Turner’s 397—a razor-thin one-vote margin.
The race has seen shifting numbers from the start:
-
Election Night: Bennett led by eight votes (395 to 387).
-
Provisional Ballot Review: After the board reviewed 24 provisional ballots on May 26, Turner gained 10 votes and Bennett gained 3, narrowing the gap to one out of 805 total ballots cast.
-
The “Tie” Claim: Turner, who has held this commission seat for more than a quarter-century, contends the race is actually a 398 to 398 tie, pointing to what he claims is an uncounted absentee vote.
Because Bennett’s lead is a single vote, even the smallest discrepancy could unsettle the results. However, even if Turner proves a tie, a deadlock does not automatically make him the winner. If the recount leaves the totals completely unchanged, Bennett keeps the nomination and Turner forfeits the $8,500.
While the state committee is typically the final step in a political party’s internal contest process, Alabama courts can theoretically step in—but only if it is proven that the party completely failed to follow statutory election laws.
