Heather Milam, the Democrats’ 2018 nominee to serve as Alabama’s secretary of state, has yet to file her mandatory campaign finance report for last year, which was due on January 31.
The secretary of state is responsible for administering elections in the state, including implementing aspects of the Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA). The FCPA requires candidates to publicly file finance reports in specified intervals, including an annual report at the end of each January covering the previous year.
Milam, after running to ensure the FCPA is followed by all candidates in the state, has now been in violation of the state law for over 90 days and counting as of Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Intentional violation of the reporting requirements in the FCPA is a Class A Misdemeanor.
Milam’s campaign website, under her platform, has a subheading that reads, “Provide Transparency.”
She promised to “be accountable to all Alabamians.”
Further down in her platform, Milam also pledged to, “Make the office more accessible to citizens and more efficient.”
“As Secretary of State, my office will be adequately staffed so that applications and inquiries are processed quickly, and information is easily accessible,” she claimed.
According to Merrill’s office, Milam is one of 71 candidates or PAC’s in violation of the annual reporting requirement for 2018.
Other violators included the Cherokee County Democratic Club, Democratic Empowerment Coalition, Etowah County Democratic Executive Committee and Progressives Of Alabama PAC.
“In the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office, we work diligently each and every day to ensure that it is easy to vote, and hard to cheat. Part of ensuring that goal is accomplished is confirming that candidates for public office, those elected officials responsible for spending tax-payer resources, are fully transparent with the people of this state as those individuals campaign for public office,” Secretary of State John Merrill said in a statement.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
