It was on this date one year ago that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” first profiled the sitting Alabama Secretary of State, and 2020 U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama, John Merrill, who formerly served a four year term in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2010 through 2014. John Merrill, during his four year career as a legislator, he supported bills to do things like create stricter voter ID laws to disenfranchise voters (that would be overturned as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court but five years after he voted for it), to pass one of the most brutal anti-immigrant laws in the country, to try and nullify the Affordable Care Act, practice the unconstitutional and failed conservative policy of drug testing welfare recipients, and to try to outlaw abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected (i.e. at six weeks, when many women don’t even realize they’re pregnant yet).
And his voting record isn’t even the beginning of this story. Although, his support of voter disenfrachisement didn’t stop with but one bill. A study done by researchers at Auburn University has found that Merrill is bad at his job as Secretary of State, either by incompetence or deliberate sabotage, take your pick. The study focused on the quality of Alabama’s county voting and election websites, and found statewide problems with information provided to voters. Their evaluation of the relationship between voting systems and “demographic, socioeconomic, partisan, and participatory composition” of counties showed “limited voting and election information and are not in full compliance with accessibility, usability, and mobile readiness standards.” Further, the extent to which voting and elections information are provided is “related to county composition.” (Short version: It seemed like counties with African Americans were given less access to good information, and voting access.)
So, in light of this study, Merrill was interviewed in a documentary about voter suppression just prior to the 2016 election about his failings as Secretary of State, and he actually made the argument that increasing voter registration would “Cheapen the work” of civil-rights advocates like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Enacting automatic voter registration to undo voter suppression and boos election would, in Merrill’s warped little mind, allow people who are too “lazy” to vote now to have the “privilege” of voting.
Yeah, that’s a real motherf***er of a stupid argument to make, but he made it.
Alas, it isn’t only voter suppression and racism that we’re going to make note of before we close out our original look at John Merrill… it’s the homophobia. He’s been complaining about homosexuals being depicted positively and too often on television, and longs for the days when “Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Virginian, Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy.” (Bonanza is the most recent of those shows, and it has been off the air since 1973, when Merrill was nine years old).
”We’re too interested in homosexual activities. We’re too interested in seeing how this family’s finding a way to mess on this family or to see how people are trying to date on TV, or having wife-swapping on TV.”
This isn’t a one-off comment, either, as Merrill doubled-down on his frustration with people accepting that gay people exist on television, but not limiting himself to fictional content, instead attacking a United States gold medalist, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, because HOW DARE SHE BE AN OUT AND PROUD LESBIAN AND PEOPLE BE OKAY WITH THAT.
John Merrill ran for U.S. Senate in 2020, but when it became clear he had no path to victory, he dropped out prior to the primary. He still will be Alabama Secretary of State until 2022, and we’re expecting him to give us all constant reminders why we need a new Voting Rights Act at least until that time.
One Year Ago, November 21st, 2019: John Merrill (AL)… Original Profile
Two Years Ago, November 21st, 2018: Barbara Comstock (VA)… 2018 Update
Three Years Ago, November 21st, 2017: Barbara Comstock (VA)… 2017 Update
Four Years Ago, November 21st, 2016: Barbara Comstock (VA)… 2016 Update
Five Years Ago, November 21st, 2015: Barbara Comstock (VA)… 2015 Update
Six Years Ago, November 21st, 2014: Barbara Comstock (VA)… Original Profile