‘They’re not going to get away with it:’ Alabama secretary of state reacts to Monroe County voter fraud arrests

MONROE COUNTY, Ala. (WALA) - The Alabama secretary of state is reacting to the arrests of three Monroe County women for voter fraud.

Court documents show 67-year-old Sharon Denson, 46-year-old Samantha Kyles and 59-year-old Sarah Bennett falsified and submitted official voting documents for a total of 20 people during the Frisco City municipal election last August.

Secretary of State Wes Allen said the arrests are why he pushed for Senate Bill 1.

“We are proud of this particular piece of legislation. We want to make sure we protect elections in the state and we want to make sure that when the people of the state, when they go vote and they go home and they see the returns come in, and they lay their head down at night, that they can depend on elections in our state being accountable and being transparent, and being one that they can depend on,” Allen said.

The bill, passed in 2024, makes it illegal for someone to get paid to handle absentee ballots or pay others to do so, with the exception for family members and disabled voters who need assistance. It also prevents anyone other than authorized people from collecting or delivering ballots on the voter’s behalf.

The criminal charges against Kyles, Denson and Bennett follow both SB1 being signed into law and a civil lawsuit filed by former Frisco City Mayor Allen Lang, who lost the August election. In it, Lang is challenging the vote count, saying 131 illegal absentee ballots were counted, which changed the results.

Allen said he hopes the arrests and indictments set an example for others.

“I just hope everyone understands that if they want to do in this type of illegal activity in the future, that they’re not going to get away with it,” Allen said.

Denson, Kyles and Bennett have bonded out of jail.

Copyright 2026 WALA. All rights reserved.