Alabama Secretary of State and TROY alumnus Wes Allen will deliver the keynote address to Troy University’s Summer Commencement on July 25.

Commencement exercises will begin at 10 a.m. inside Trojan Arena where nearly 350 graduates are expected to participate, including three receiving their associate’s degree, 168 receiving undergraduate degrees, 157 receiving their graduate degrees, six who will receive the Education Specialist degree, and one receiving the doctorate.

A reception for graduates and their families precedes the ceremony beginning at 7:30 a.m. at the Chancellor’s Residence.

Allen was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th Secretary of State on January 16, 2023. A lifelong Republican, he served as Pike County’s Probate Judge for nearly a decade before being elected to serve District 89 in the Alabama House of Representatives. He has announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor. 

As Alabama’s Chief Elections Official, Allen works closely with local officials across the state to ensure that Alabama’s elections remain the most secure in the nation.

Just minutes after taking the Oath of Office, he kept his first campaign promise by signing the letter officially withdrawing Alabama from the ERIC system and developing and implementing an Alabama-based solution: the Alabama Voter Integrity Database, or AVID. 

Since taking Office, he has championed legislative action that both strengthened the security of Alabama elections and reduced government red tape for business owners and candidates alike. Major wins of his legislative agendas include banning internet connectivity for election tabulators, requiring the use of paper ballots in all Alabama elections, outlawing absentee ballot harvesting and ranked-choice voting, and expanding the Alabama crimes of moral turpitude law. Allen also supported legislation that removed burdensome red tape and fees for Alabama business owners and unnecessary reporting requirements for municipal candidates.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama where he played football for the Crimson Tide. He received his Master’s degree from Troy University. He and his wife, Cae, have two children. Davis is a graduate of Troy University. Dee is a student at the University of Alabama. They are members of First Baptist Church of Troy, where Wes is an ordained Deacon and Sunday School leader.