On Thursday, embattled state legislator David Cole resigned from office and signed a plea deal admitting guilt. Cole was arrested on Tuesday for voter fraud, having voted at an unauthorized location or location. Thursday’s plea agreement ends a year of charges, legal drama, and denials of charges that ultimately appear now to be true.
Cole, a Republican, was elected in 2022 to represent House District 10 in Madison County.
It has been alleged by his political opponents that Cole, a Huntsville doctor, did not live in House District 10 – an allegation that he strenuously denied even though he owns a house outside of the district. Cole claimed that he leased a house from a friend. This issue has been in litigation for months as his Libertarian opponent, Elijah Boyd, challenged Cole’s residency. On Tuesday, Cole was arrested and charged with fraud-voting at multiple or unauthorized locations. That is a Class C felony. Coles was booked into the Madison County Jail but 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…”
Cole claimed in the primary election that he leased a 25-square-foot area in the friend’s house for just $5 a month. Cole later produced a lease agreement claiming that he leased the whole house.
By the time of the general election, he again changed his registration, claiming that he lived in an apartment in District 10. All this time, the house outside of the district that he owned was not sold.
Cole then reportedly voted at the polling place for that address. He now apparently admits in the plea agreement that his vote in November was fraudulent, and so were the filing papers he signed when he qualified with the Alabama Republican Party to run for the District 10 seat to begin with.
Cole will reportedly agree to accept a three-year prison sentence that will be split into a 60-day sentence in the Madison County jail, with the remainder being served in unsupervised probation.
As a condition to this plea deal, Cole has agreed to resign from office and surrender any money that he made as a state legislator.
In the coming days, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey will announce the dates for the special election to fill the vacancy in House District 10. Already we are hearing names of prominent Republicans who are seeking support for a run to fill the sudden vacancy.
In 2022, the Madison County Democratic Party targeted HD10 as a rare GOP seat that they felt they could realistically expect to flip. Despite this, Cole prevailed in the November general election with 51.6% of the vote (7,581 votes). Democrat Marilyn Lands received 45.0% of the vote (6,608 votes), and Libertarian Elijah Boyd received just 3.4% of the vote (503 votes).
Cole is the second member of the House of Representatives to plead guilty to criminal deeds this year. Democrat Fred Plump in Birmingham was the other.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
