Here’s why:
“As long as I’m secretary of state of Alabama,” John Merrill proclaimed in 2016, “you’re going to have to show some initiative to become a registered voter in this state.”
Merrill, a Republican, is still secretary of state. But Tuesday’s special election proved his declaration was incomplete. In Alabama, showing initiative isn’t always sufficient to become a registered voter.
Under Merrill’s regime, a multitude of voters—most of them in majority-black counties—struggled to cast their ballots in the race between Roy Moore and Doug Jones. Unprepared poll workers spread misinformation. Bewildered citizens were forced to fill out confusing, redundant paperwork. Qualified voters were told they could not vote. And the state may well have run afoul of federal law.
www.slate.com/…
Merrill decisions make it difficult for minorities to vote in Alabama:
When Alabamians go to the polls on Tuesday to elect Republican Roy Moore or Democrat Doug Jones as their new senator, an untold number will not participate due to the decisions made by Merrill’s office—which is in charge of ensuring a fair voting process—and by the Republicans who run the state. These laws and policies overwhelmingly make it harder for minorities to vote.
The election has captured national attention for pitting Moore, an anti-gay zealot accused of sexually assaulting teenagers, against Jones, a former federal prosecutor known for prosecuting KKK murderers. Alabama is a deeply conservative state, and it’s a testament to Moore’s unparalleled weakness as a candidate that the race is close. Most recent polls show Moore with a single-digit
lead.www.motherjones.com/...
Appropriate or not in his position as Secretary of State, Merrill announced:
"I'm voting for the Republican nominee, who is Judge Roy Moore. And I had stated on numerous occasions, both publicly and privately, that unless the charges that had been alleged by the women that came forward and brought those charges were proven to be true, that I would continue to support the Republican nominee, who happens to be Judge Roy Moore.
www.wbur.org/…
I’ve been trying to find out if John Merrill had anyone opposing him in his election to Alabama Secretary of State but it kinda looks like Ajit Pai’s regime is already blocking your average American taxpayer’s access to internet information and I can’t get nowhere. Most likely Merrill did not have anyone running against him, very common in Alabama, and was just handed his position for the asking.
The first thing that Alabamans who favor election justice must do is to recruit a good candidate to run against Merrill in 2018 — internet won’t even disclose to me if Merrill is up for election then, but I’m guessing he is.
Oops, Ballotpedia just disclosed that Lula Albert-Kaigler ran against Merrill in 2014. Merrill won by more than 300K votes.
There seems to be a term limitation to the Alabama Secretary of State position but info is not easily accessible.
Knowledgeable Kos people, please enlighten me.