Neal Embry
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill speaks to the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce on June 11.
On June 11, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill spoke to business leaders at the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce luncheon about his work in helping businesses and expanding the state’s voter roll.
“We have made a concerted effort … to ensure each and every eligible citizen of the United States who are residents of Alabama are registered to vote and have a photo ID,” Merrill said.
Merrill said in the years leading up to an election, his office traveled to all 67 counties in the state and brought a mobile office, allowing residents to register to vote and receive a photo ID. Merrill defended the photo ID law, which has, in Alabama and other states, been routinely lambasted as racist and unnecessary, but has survived court challenges.
The Secretary of State’s office also released a “Vote for Alabama” app in 2016, allowing those who need to update their registration or register to vote for the first time to do so, Merrill said.
All of the work Merrill’s office has done these past few years, he said, has “made it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”
The state has added more than one million voters since 2015, with about 3.4 million people now registered to vote, Merrill said.
All six of the convictions of voter fraud Merrill’s office has prosecuted have come as a result of absentee voting, leading Merrill to push for stricter absentee voting regulations, he said.
Speaking of the office’s work in processing and overseeing business services, Merrill said when he took office, it took seven to nine months to process business filings. Now, for 154 straight weeks, business owners can receive receipt of filing on the same day they file, Merrill said.
Still, that’s not good enough, he said. Merrill said he eventually wants the filings to be done instantaneously.
As the 2020 election draws nearer, Merrill is reportedly considering a run for Sen. Doug Jones’ seat. Several Republicans have emerged to challenge Jones, a Democrat, who defeated Roy Moore in a 2017 special-called election.
While Merrill was not specifically asked about his decision, he said Alabamians will have to “decide what kind of representation they want in that seat.”
“A lot of people can do that work,” Merrill said. “It’s whether or not we want the person that does that work to do it with the same enthusiasm, energy and vigor that we expect them to represent us with that will allow them to represent our people and our values the way we know they need to be represented.”
