Former Alabama representative sentenced after pleading guilty to voter fraud

MADISON CO., Ala. (WAFF/Gray News) – A former Alabama representative was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to voter fraud during a primary election last year.

A judge sentenced former House District 10 Rep. David Cole (R-Huntsville) to pay nearly $53,000 in restitution and serve a three-year split sentence. Cole will serve 60 days in Madison County Jail, followed by three years on probation.

According to court documents, in August, Cole pleaded guilty to voting at an unauthorized polling place back in November 2022.

Cole was charged with fraud-voting at multiple or unauthorized locations, a Class C felony, and booked into the Madison County Jail where he was later released on a $2,500 bond.

According to court documents, Cole “did knowingly vote in the November 8, 2022, general election at a polling police where he had not been authorized to vote, to wit: within the boundaries of Alabama House District 10…”

In 2022, questions about Cole’s residency were raised before the election as it was discovered that he signed a rental agreement in Nov. 2021 just days before the filing deadline.

In May 2023, a nearly three-hour-long deposition was conducted for Cole brought by Libertarian Elijah Boyd at the Alabama State House.

The court document stated that Cole voted absentee in the primary election on May 24, 2022, using the address of a home in District 10, where he rented a “5×5 area” for $5 a month.

In the run-off election on June 21, 2022, Cole voted in person at a polling place where he was not authorized to vote because he had falsely used the same home’s address to register within District 10. In the weeks prior to the primary election, Cole provided an altered copy of his lease which stated that he was renting the entire house instead of the “5×5 area.”

Six weeks after Cole provided a third party working for him a lease for Ashbury Apartments, he completed another online voter registration update which certified that he lived at the apartment. He then used the apartment address to vote in the general election on Nov. 8, 2022, at a polling place where he was not authorized to vote.

In addition to that, on Dec. 1, 2022, Cole completed a property-tax exemption document in which he certified that as of Oct. 1, 2022, he lived in the Cedar Springs House which is located in District 4.

Cole entered a guilty plea in part of an agreement on Aug. 24. As part of the plea agreement, Cole was to resign from his position with the Alabama House of Representatives. On Aug. 30, Cole submitted his letter of resignation.

Cole has until Oct. 17 by 5 p.m. to turn himself in to authorities.

According to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office, the District 10 seat will remain vacant until a future special election can be scheduled. That date is unknown at this time.

Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.