Although he lost the Republican primary nomination in May, an Alabama sheriff could be re-elected due to a grassroots effort to write him in as the preferred candidate in the general election.
The effort revolves around writing-in Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones on Nov. 3 over Cam Hunt, a former deputy at the sheriff’s office who was fired by Jones before narrowly defeating him in the primary.
Hunt is the lone candidate officially on the ballot for Lee County sheriff due to a Democratic candidate not running.
Jones was first elected in 1998 and is currently serving his seventh term.
Debra Beil, an organizer in the campaign for Jones, said many people are backing the current sheriff because of his experience in the position and performance serving in the role for 27 years.
Beil, a self-described liberal but not strictly a Democrat, also said that there is a bipartisan push to get Jones elected as many Republicans do not prefer Hunt.
She said many Democratic voters are upset they did not get a chance to decide who the Lee County sheriff would be in the primary.
“There were an awful lot of Democrats who walked in to vote who didn’t understand that when they got there, the sheriff was a particular party and had to be on the primary ballot that you voted on,” Beil said.
“They were very upset that they could not cast the ballot for the sheriff.”
Beil said that aside from directly educating people about the ability to write-in a candidate the message is being spread through yard signs, social media activity and upcoming shirts.
AL.com left a message with the sheriff’s office seeking comment from Jones about the write-in campaign.
Hunt said that he supports citizens engaging democratically including backing Jones as a write-in candidate.
However, Hunt thinks there are “legitimate questions” about the effort such as involvement from Democrats and whether Jones is truly connected to the campaign or not.
“I also believe it’s fair to ask whether Sheriff Jones is genuinely uninvolved in this effort or simply maintaining public distance from it,” Hunt said.
“That’s a question he and those organizing the campaign are better positioned to answer.”
Beil said Jones is not involved in the campaign but she is aware that he has said he is willing to continue serving if he is elected.
Given that Hunt narrowly defeated Jones with only 307 more votes in the Republican primary, there is serious belief that a general election involving disaffected Republican voters and Democratic supporters could lead to a Jones victory.
However, Hunt has already demonstrated he has support of many voters already, has name recognition and stands to benefit from Alabama’s straight party ticket voting as recent election results show a majority of voters prefer to bubble in once to complete their ballot.
The primary between the two was contentious and a recent complaint filed by Hunt alleges that he may have even been surveilled by Jones during their race.
Hunt submitted a complaint to the Alabama Ethics Commission on June 4 asking an investigation be conducted into the alleged misuse of the Lee County Sheriff‘s Office Verizon Fleet GPS system.
The complaint states that during the primary a “geofence” or virtual boundary was placed around Hunt’s private residence and was used to potentially identify employees with the Sheriff’s office that were communicating with Hunt.
It was reported that Jones previously denied the allegations levied by Hunt saying, “The Sheriff’s Office has not and would not allow the use of this system for any purpose not involved in the interest of public safety.”
As the write-in campaign continues and the election nears, Hunt said he is not going to get distracted since, “The voters will have their say in November, and I remain confident in the decision they will make.”
