David Cole of Madison County has resigned his seat in the Alabama House of Representatives.

Rob Green, communications director for House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, said the speaker’s office received the letter of resignation Thursday.

Cole was arrested last week on a felony charge of voting in an unauthorized place.

Cole, a Republican, was elected in November to represent District 10 but his election opponents claimed he did not meet the requirement to live in the district for at least a year.

“I regretfully must tender my resignation to serve as the district 10 representative for the Alabama House of Representatives, effective on the date of this memorandum,” Cole wrote in the one-sentence letter to the speaker’s office, dated Aug. 30.

Cole’s attorney, William Espy, issued a statement Thursday.

“Dr. Cole admits and takes full responsibility for the mistakes he made in the political process,” Espy said. “He entered the process to serve his community. He has lived a life of service including serving for 22 years in the Army with tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt. The Cole family appreciates all the prayer and support from his friends and community during this time. Dr. Cole will continue to serve his community going forward.”

Cole was elected to the Legislature in November, representing District 10. But AL.com’s Kyle Whitmire reported in July that Cole lived in District 4.

In 2020, Cole’s primary opponent Anson Knowles complained to Alabama Republican Party officials that Cole had not resided in the district for a year prior to the election, as required by state law. The party left Cole on the ballot, but removed Knowles for having been involved with the Libertarian Party.

In the general election, Cole defeated Democrat Marilyn Lands and Libertarian Elijah Boyd to win the seat. Boyd later contested Cole’s victory in court.

This story will be updated.