State Auditor Asking for Opinions on Election Date to Fill Senate Seat

State Auditor Jim Zeigler is asking for an attorney general’s opinion on when the election to fill Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat should be held.

Zeigler said Monday that he sent the request to the attorney general’s office. Zeigler argues the election should be held this year and that Gov. Robert Bentley is incorrect to let it wait until the 2018 statewide elections.

Bentley last week appointed Luther Strange to the seat. Strange, who had been state attorney general, will hold the Senate seat until an election is held to fill it for the remainder of Sessions’ term.

The state’s century-old law on Senate vacancies says the governor shall “forthwith” announce an election if the vacancy occurs more than four months before an election. However, it doesn’t specify a timeframe.

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