Wes Allen (politician)

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For the soccer player, see Wes Allen.
Wes Allen
Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
from the 89th district
Assumed office
November 7, 2018
Preceded byAlan Boothe
Personal details
Born
Wesley Harrison Allen

(1975-08-15) August 15, 1975 (age 48)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCae
Children2
RelativesGerald Allen (father)
EducationUniversity of Alabama (BA)
Troy University (MA)

Wesley Harrison Allen (born August 15, 1975) is an American politician and former probate judge serving as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from the 89th district. He assumed office on November 7, 2018. Allen won the Republican nomination for secretary of state of Alabama on June 21, 2022.

Education

Allen earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama and a master's degree from Troy University. As an undergraduate, Allen played on the Alabama Crimson Tide football team under coaches Dabo Swinney and Gene Stallings.[1]

Career

In 2009, Allen was appointed to serve as a probate judge of Pike County, Alabama by then-Governor Bob Riley. Allen won election to a full term as a judge in 2012. In 2018, Allen was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives, succeeding Alan Boothe.[2]

On May 5, 2021, Allen announced his candidacy for secretary of state of Alabama in the 2022 election.[3] Allen came in second out of a field of four candidates in the Republican primary on May 24, 2022, forcing a runoff election with State Auditor Jim Zeigler.[4] The runoff election was held on June 21, 2022 and Allen defeated Zeigler with the largest percentage margin of victory of any Republican primary race held in Alabama on that date, earning 64% of the votes cast.[5] Allen will now appear as the Republican nominee for secretary of state in the November general election.

Political positions

Election security

As a member of the Alabama House of Representatives, Allen served as the vice-chair of the Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee. As a member and leader of that committee, Allen played a key role in determining which bills would make it to the floor of the House to be debated by the full body and which bills would be voted down during the committee process.[6] Allen used his experience and knowledge as a former Probate Judge, the chief elections official at the county level, to advance several key election security bills. During the 2021 legislative session, Allen sponsored and passed a bill to ban curbside voting in Alabama. That bill was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey on May 26, 2021.[7] In 2022, Allen sponsored and passed HD89, commonly referred to in the media as the "Zuckerbucks" bill.[8] The legislation, signed into law by Governor Ivey, prohibits state and local election officials from accepting private donations to fund election-related expenses.[9] The bill was passed in response to reports in the 2020 election that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, reportedly directed some $350 million in donations, or "Zuckerbucks," to more than 2,500 election officials throughout the country. Allen has also made several campaign promises during his run for secretary of state that relate to election security. He has promised that no election machine in Alabama will be connected to the internet under his watch. He has also strongly opposes ballot drop boxes and mass mail voting.[10]

ERIC

Allen has vowed that, if elected, his first act as secretary of state would be to withdraw Alabama from membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as ERIC.[11] Allen said if elected secretary of state, he would remove Alabama from the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, claiming the $25,000 membership fee is a waste of taxpayer dollars and contending that Alabamians would not agree to their information being used by ERIC to maintain accurate voter rolls.[12] Allen also had concerns over the fact that the seed money used to start ERIC was connected to organizations funded by George Soros.[13]

Second Amendment

Wes Allen is a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment and opposed efforts to unconstitutionally limit the right.[14] Allen voted for and co-sponsored Alabama’s constitutional carry legislation which was signed into law in 2022.[15]

Transgender policies

Allen sponsored the Alabama Vulnerable Child Protection Act, which prohibits doctors from administering puberty blockers to children in Alabama for the purpose of changing their sex. It also bans sex change surgeries from being performed on minors in the state.[16] The bill was passed and signed into law by Alabama’s governor in 2022.[17]

Abortion

Allen believes that life begins at conception and has been vocal about his anti-abortion stance. He voted for and co-sponsored one of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the country, the Human Life Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2019. The law was initially held up by an injunction in federal court but that injunction was lifted after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the Human Life Protection Act became law.[18]

Personal life

Allen's father, Gerald Allen, has served as a member of the Alabama Legislature since 1994.[19] Allen and his wife, Cae, have two children and live in Troy, Alabama.[20]

References

  1. ^ "New Member Profile: Rep. Wes Allen for House District 89". Alabama Daily News. 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  2. ^ "Wes Allen". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  3. ^ "Troy Republican Wes Allen running for Alabama Secretary of State". al. 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  4. ^ Burkhalter, Eddie (2022-05-25). "Wes Allen, Jim Zeigler headed to runoff in GOP race for secretary of state". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  5. ^ Staff, WSFA 12 News. "Allen defeats Zeigler in GOP secretary of state runoff". www.wsfa.com. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  6. ^ "Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee, Alabama House of Representatives". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  7. ^ Lyman, Brian. "Gov. Kay Ivey signs Alabama curbside voting ban. Here's what this means for future elections". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  8. ^ Holmes, Jacob (2022-03-21). "Voting rights groups continue fight against "Zuckerbucks" bill; Allen dismisses concerns". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  9. ^ Murry, Charles (2022-04-13). "Governor Ivey Strengthens Election Integrity, Signs "Zuckerbucks" Bill into Law". Office of the Governor of Alabama. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  10. ^ "Wes Allen promises 'no drop boxes' and 'no mass mailing of ballots' if elected Alabama Secretary of State". Yellowhammer News. 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  11. ^ WTVY Staff. "Candidate promises to withdraw Alabama from national voter information organization". WSFA. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  12. ^ "Secretary of state candidate vows to withdraw Alabama from 'Soros-funded' group; Merrill denies claim". al. 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  13. ^ Thomas | 02.17.22, Erica. "ERIC under microscope after allegations of liberal agenda, Pt. 2". 1819 News. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  14. ^ "Alabama lawmakers take sides in national debate over gun rights". al. 2021-03-27. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  15. ^ lori.jhons (2022-03-10). "Governor Ivey Defends Alabamians' Second Amendment Rights, Signs Constitutional Carry Bill into Law". Office of the Governor of Alabama. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  16. ^ "Eagle Forum Supports the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act (VCAP)". Eagle Forum of Alabama. 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  17. ^ Lyman, Brian. "Alabama bill criminalizing transgender health treatments moves closer to passage". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  18. ^ Lane, Keith (2022-06-24). "Abortion now illegal in Alabama after federal judge lifts injunction". WPMI. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  19. ^ Curtis, Ken. "History making lawmaker seeking another office". wtvy.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Wes Allen". waff.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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