One of the primary issues that inspired Bennett to switch his allegiance to the Republican Party was his resolve to boost the integrity of the state election system by purging dead voters from the rolls. "It upset a lot of people to clean up the voter rolls because they had been elected under that system for so many years and they were reluctant to change things," he said.

The secretary of state receives and maintains the campaign finance reports filed by candidates for statewide office and for the State Legislature. According to an interview given almost a decade after leaving the secretary's office, Bennett's instincts as a former newspaper reporter led him to believe that the majority of voters would not see the reports so long as they remained available only in hard copies at the capitol. His subsequent decision to expand access by scanning the documents and posting them on the secretary of state's website was popular with the public, however, it made some state officials uncomfortable. Bennett noted in the interview that "The Legislature got very upset at the time, but they backed off quickly when people objected to them objecting."

State Legislature (1978-1993)

Bennett represented Jefferson County in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1978 to 1983. He won a special election for the state Senate in 1983, where he served until 1993.

Issues

Bennett gave an interview with the Associate Press upon his retirement in the fall of 2012 in which he discussed the half-century he spent around Alabama government, first as a reporter at the height of the civil rights movement, and then through his 34 year career in public office. Bennett reflected on his long-term advocacy for still unrealized revision of Alabama's 1901 Constitution that would transfer power from the capital to the counties. "It's just silly for the Legislature to spend all the time it does on local issues," he said.

Bennett was appointed secretary of state by Governor Robert Bentley (R), effective July 31, 2013, to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of twice-elected officeholder Beth Chapman. Chapman decided to step down early in order to take a job in the private sector. Bennett served as Chapman's replacement until a successor John Merrill (R) was sworn into office on January 19, 2015.

The appointment was a homecoming of sorts for Bennett, since he had served previously in the role from 1993 to 2003. The first occasion on which Bennett was appointed-then by ex-Gov. Jim Folsom-to fill a vacancy in the office, Bennett was a Democrat, and he went on to win his first term as secretary of state as a Democrat. In the next election, however, in 1998, he ran as a Republican and remained affiliated with the party until leaving office. At the time of his retirement in 2012, Bennett recalled the circumstances of the switch, saying that Republicans were more attuned to his issue positions, such as cracking down on voter fraud, adding, "Now you almost have to be a Republican to get elected to statewide office." When he retired from state office, Bennett noted in an interview that out of the several positions he occupied throughout his career, his favorite was secretary of state. He said he thrived in the important and at times controversial role of chief election officer.

Bennett was originally appointed in 2003 by Governor Bob Riley. When current Governor Robert Bentley took office in 2011, he retained Bennett as state labor commissioner. As the commissioner served at the pleasure of the governor, he was not subject to fixed terms or reappointment, but his position was eliminated in the fall of 2012. "Jim Bennett has been around through many of Alabama's toughest and best years," said Tom Surtees, Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Director, and became Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Labor on Monday, October 1, when a recently passed merger took place.

Purging voter rolls

One of the primary issues that inspired Bennett to switch his allegiance to the Republican Party was his resolve to boost the integrity of the state election system by purging dead voters from the rolls. "It upset a lot of people to clean up the voter rolls because they had been elected under that system for so many years and they were reluctant to change things," he said.

Public engagement

The secretary of state receives and maintains the campaign finance reports filed by candidates for statewide office and for the State Legislature. According to an interview given almost a decade after leaving the secretary's office, Bennett's instincts as a former newspaper reporter led him to believe that the majority of voters would not see the reports so long as they remained available only in hard copies at the capitol. His subsequent decision to expand access by scanning the documents and posting them on the secretary of state's website was popular with the public, however, it made some state officials uncomfortable. Bennett noted in the interview that "The Legislature got very upset at the time, but they backed off quickly when people objected to them objecting."

Bennett was appointed secretary of state by Governor Robert Bentley (R), effective July 31, 2013, to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of twice-elected officeholder Beth Chapman. Chapman decided to step down early in order to take a job in the private sector. Bennett served as Chapman's replacement until a successor John Merrill (R) was sworn into office on January 19, 2015.

The appointment was a homecoming of sorts for Bennett, since he had served previously in the role from 1993 to 2003. The first occasion on which Bennett was appointed-then by ex-Gov. Jim Folsom-to fill a vacancy in the office, Bennett was a Democrat, and he went on to win his first term as secretary of state as a Democrat. In the next election, however, in 1998, he ran as a Republican and remained affiliated with the party until leaving office. At the time of his retirement in 2012, Bennett recalled the circumstances of the switch, saying that Republicans were more attuned to his issue positions, such as cracking down on voter fraud, adding, "Now you almost have to be a Republican to get elected to statewide office." When he retired from state office, Bennett noted in an interview that out of the several positions he occupied throughout his career, his favorite was secretary of state. He said he thrived in the important and at times controversial role of chief election officer.

Bennett represented Jefferson County in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1978 to 1983. He won a special election for the state Senate in 1983, where he served until 1993.