By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) has issued a written statement announcing that he has called a Special Election to fill the vacancy in Alabama House of Representatives District 11. District 11 became vacant when Governor Bentley appointed Representative Jeremy Oden (R) from Eva to the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC).
PSC Commissioner Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh vacated her position on the Commission when she defeated incumbent PSC President Lucy Baxley (D) in the November 6th election. Rep. Oden will serve out the remaining two years of Commissioner Cavanaugh’s term.
Gov. Bentley said, “This election timeline was designed to have a representative in place for District 11 as soon as possible. The timeline gives candidates time to qualify, it allows voters time to learn about candidates, and it allows time for those who are unable to vote in-person to arrange to vote by absentee ballot.”
Representative Oden said, “It has been an honor to serve the people of District 11 for the past 14 years. They have supported me, and I did my best to represent them in Montgomery. I thank them for their support, and I look forward to continuing to serve them in this statewide office. I also want to thank Governor Bentley for the confidence he has in me to serve in this new role. I look forward to serving all the people of Alabama and protecting their interests on the Public Service Commission.”
The Special Primary Election for District 35 will be held on Tuesday, February 12, 2013. In the very unlikely event that no one contests either the Republican or Democratic primaries, the Special General Election will be held on Tuesday, February 12, 2013.
If a runoff is needed to settle on the major party’s candidate the Special Primary Runoff Election will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. If no runoff is necessary then the Special General Election will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 2013.
If primaries and a primary runoff are both necessary then the Special General Election will not be held until Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
If you are considering running for the seat in the primary, you must make your decision very very quickly because the deadline to qualify to run as either a Republican or a Democrat is Wednesday, December 19th at 5:00 pm. Both political parties must certify their qualified candidates at the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012.
If you are considering a third party or independent run then you must collect signatures of registered voters who live in the district to receive ballot access. All of those petitions and all of the accompanying paperwork must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office by no later than 5:00 on Friday, December 21.
District 11 covers parts of Cullman, Blount, and Morgan Counties.
