By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE, Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The state auditor says he will sue Gov. Robert Bentley for waiting until 2018 to hold the election for Jeff Sessions' former U.S. Senate seat.

Jim Zeigler told The Associated Press of the lawsuit on Wednesday.

He says Bentley's appointment of former state Attorney General Luther Strange to the U.S. Senate broke Alabama laws that require a special election for the seat. The governor's office said they believe they are correctly interpreting the law.

The appointment has been marred by accusations of corruption on the grounds that Strange paused a sexual misconduct-related impeachment investigation against the governor prior to him being appointed.

A draft of the lawsuit names both Bentley and Strange as defendants. Zeigler says he will formally announce and file it on Monday.