The recount that Albert Turner Jr. has pursued since the day he lost the Perry County Commission District 1 Democratic primary by a single vote is scheduled for Thursday, July 9, at 11 a.m., after a week in which the posting of Turner’s $8,500 security bond became its own running dispute.
Donald J. Bennett was certified as the Democratic nominee on May 26 with 398 votes to Turner’s 397. The Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee ruled in late June that Turner’s formal election contest was filed too late but that his May 26 recount request was timely, and ordered the county party to conduct a recount once Turner posted a security deposit covering its estimated cost.
The Perry County Democratic Executive Committee met June 30 at 5:30 p.m. to set that amount. In a letter dated the same day and signed by Probate Judge Carlton L. Hogue in his capacity as county party chairman, the committee set the bond at $8,500, to be paid within 48 hours of the letter’s delivery by the Perry County Sheriff or an appointee, with payment made to the chairman. A copy of the letter circulated on social media along with word that Turner had been served.
According to a post on Turner’s campaign page, the committee voted 12-9 at a meeting at the Albert Turner Sr. Courthouse Annex to require an itemized list of expected recount charges and to designate the Probate Office in the courthouse as the location for bond payment and receipt. The post said the recount will cover 796 ballots.
Turner had told reporters after the state committee’s ruling that he would pay by cash or cashier’s check “so there won’t be any delay.” What followed was neither. According to his campaign page, Turner appeared on July 1 with the bond in hand but was unable to pay because Hogue had not signed the paperwork to complete service and was not available to receive payment. The post said Turner would attempt payment again on July 7.
When payment came, it was by check, and not from Turner’s campaign. Robert Shepherd, a Marion resident who has closely tracked the election dispute on social media, reported that Turner paid the bond with a check drawn on the Emerson Company, a firm Turner leads. Turner subsequently released a copy of the check publicly. Shepherd, citing Hogue, reported that Turner received a receipt for the bond at 9:30 p.m.
In a post Wednesday morning, Turner’s campaign page said Hogue went to Marion Bank at 8 a.m. to verify the check was secured, found that it was, and that the state party has ordered the county party to conduct the recount and report the results to the state, which will announce a winner.
“Finally, what Commissioner Turner requested on May 26 will now take place on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.,” the post said. “Now that the table is set, bond secured, let the process begin.“
The same post accused Hogue of having “tried to block, deter, and prevent the recount,” and said no surety bond of that size had ever been required in Perry County. Hogue has previously defended his handling of the election, calling Turner’s allegations about the count “false, misleading, and harmful,” and has questioned the state committee’s decision to order a recount after ruling Turner’s contest untimely.
The manner of the bond payment drew questions of its own. Shepherd noted in a lengthy post that Turner’s campaign finance filings with the Alabama Secretary of State, amended July 2, reported a campaign balance of $4,468.71, well short of the bond amount, and that the campaign paid the Emerson Company a total of $5,000 for political consulting in four payments between April and June. The recount would not begin, Shepherd wrote, until the check cleared.
Under the state committee’s ruling, the recount will not be conducted by hand. Ballots will be run back through tabulation equipment, and any ballot the machine rejects will then be reviewed by hand as state law requires. If the recount leaves the certified totals unchanged, Bennett keeps the nomination and Turner forfeits the $8,500. If the totals change enough to affect the outcome, the result can be contested further. Because no Republican qualified in District 1, the Democratic nominee will take the seat in November.
