The Perry County Democratic Party made the decision to remove Commissioner Ben Eaton from the Perry County Primary ballot. This followed his failure to submit an Alabama Statement of Economic Interest to the Alabama Secretary of State within the required timeframe. Commissioner Eaton was running for reelection to his first term, representing District 5.
State law requires candidates who qualify to seek public office to file a statement of economic interest within 5 days of qualifying. This statement requires candidates and public officials to disclose sources of income for themselves and their spouses, as well as details about their total household income and total debt in ranges.
Commissioner Eaton is among the dozens of candidates across Alabama who have been disqualified from the March 5 primary due to not submitting the required economic interest filing form on time. The decision has been highly contested by multiple candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties who have filed lawsuits to overturn the disqualification, including in Jefferson and Montgomery counties. This has left Eaton as the only candidate seeking office in Perry County that faced disqualification. Commissioner Eaton was running for re-election to the Perry County Commission, facing two opponents in the Democratic primary for the District 5 seat: Carlton Lewis and Ronald Miller, both of Uniontown.
