A pair of Democrat officials have been arrested on felony voter fraud charges

Jacqulyn Boone, 51, the former mayor fo Fort Deposit, and Steven Thigpen, 49, a city council candidate, each face one count of unlawful use of absentee ballots.

Boone won the election in 2020 and was the first Black female mayor of the town.
Thigpen ran for a council seat in District 2.
Both were declared winners in August of last year.

Boone took the mayor’s race with about 64 percent of the vote. But lawsuits filed by the Town of Fort Deposit and a local citizen, Faye Finney, led to court review.

Circuit Judge Cleve Poole ruled in October 2025 that more than 400 absentee ballots were invalid because Boone and Thigpen had witnessed the ballot affidavits in violation of Alabama law that bars candidates from serving as witnesses on absentee ballots.

The judge threw out the election results for the mayor’s race and the affected council seats.

A special election was ordered and held on January 13.

Madelene Means defeated Boone for mayor, winning about 57 percent. Thigpen withdrew from the council race before the redo.
Boone and Thigpen were arrested and face up to 10 years in prison.