John Merrill (Alabama)
John Merrill (Republican Party) was the Alabama Secretary of State. He assumed office on January 19, 2015. He left office on January 16, 2023.
Merrill (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Alabama. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on March 3, 2020.
Merrill is a former Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives who represented District 62 from 2010 to 2014. Merrill served as the chairman of the state Republican Party in 2009, and he became a member for the state Republican Executive Committee the same year.[1]
Biography
Merrill was born on November 12, 1963. He earned his B.A. in history and political science from the University of Alabama in 1990. Merrill was a governmental affairs intern for the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama from 1987 to 1988. He then worked for Randall Publishing Company as a national account executive from 1988 to 1990. From 1990 to 1993, he was the assistant director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Authority. Merrill worked for the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama as director of business development from 1993 to 1994. He was the director of community relations and community education for the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education from 1994 to 2014.[1]
Political career
- 2015-2023: Alabama Secretary of State
- 2010-2014: State representative, Alabama House of Representatives District 62
- 2009: Chairman, Alabama Republican Party
Elections
2022
John Merrill was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2020
See also: United States Senate election in Alabama, 2020
United States Senate election in Alabama, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)
United States Senate election in Alabama, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Alabama
Tommy Tuberville defeated incumbent Doug Jones in the general election for U.S. Senate Alabama on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tommy Tuberville (R) | 60.1 | 1,392,076 |
 | Doug Jones (D) | 39.7 | 920,478 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 3,891 | ||
| Total votes: 2,316,445 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Parrish (Unaffiliated)
- Marcus Jejaun Williams (Independent Conservative Democratic Party)
Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate Alabama
Tommy Tuberville defeated Jeff Sessions in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate Alabama on July 14, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tommy Tuberville | 60.7 | 334,675 |
 | Jeff Sessions | 39.3 | 216,452 | |
| Total votes: 551,127 | |||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Doug Jones advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Alabama.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Alabama
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Alabama on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tommy Tuberville | 33.4 | 239,616 |
| ✔ | | Jeff Sessions | 31.6 | 227,088 |
 | Bradley Byrne | 24.9 | 178,627 | |
 | Roy Moore | 7.2 | 51,377 | |
 | Ruth Page Nelson | 1.0 | 7,200 | |
 | Arnold Mooney | 1.0 | 7,149 | |
 | Stanley Adair | 0.9 | 6,608 | |
| Total votes: 717,665 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
2018
General election
General election for Alabama Secretary of State
Incumbent John Merrill defeated Heather Milam in the general election for Alabama Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | John Merrill (R) | 61.0 | 1,032,425 |
 | Heather Milam (D) | 38.9 | 658,537 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,064 | ||
| Total votes: 1,692,026 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Alabama Secretary of State
Heather Milam defeated Lula Albert in the Democratic primary for Alabama Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Heather Milam | 63.7 | 161,062 |
| Lula Albert | 36.3 | 91,965 | ||
| Total votes: 253,027 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State
Incumbent John Merrill defeated Michael Johnson in the Republican primary for Alabama Secretary of State on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Merrill | 71.6 | 335,852 |
 | Michael Johnson | 28.4 | 133,014 | |
| Total votes: 468,866 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2014
Merrill ran for the open seat of Alabama Secretary of State. The previous incumbent, Jim Bennett (R), was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of previous officeholder Beth Chapman, and was not running for a full term in 2014.[2]
Merrill won the Republican nomination in the primary runoff on July 15, 2014.[3] The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary runoff
| Alabama Secretary of State, Republican Primary Runoff, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 John Merrill |
53.1% | 108,740 | ||
| Reese McKinney | 46.9% | 95,877 | ||
| Total Votes | 204,617 | |||
| Election results via Alabama Secretary of State. | ||||
Primary election
| Alabama Secretary of State Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| John Merrill |
39.6% | 143,960 | ||
| Reese McKinney |
38.4% | 139,763 | ||
| James Perdue | 22% | 80,050 | ||
| Total Votes | 363,773 | |||
| Election results via Alabama Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Secretary of State of Alabama, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John Merrill |
64.3% | 733,298 | |
| Democratic | Lula Albert-Kaigler | 35.6% | 406,373 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 1,271 | |
| Total Votes | 1,140,942 | |||
| Election results via Alabama Secretary of State | ||||
2010
Merrill defeated Jerry Tingle in the June 1 primary. He then defeated Constitution Party candidate Steven Kneussle in the November 2 general election.[4][5]
| Alabama House of Representatives, District 62 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John Merrill (R)
|
11,658 | |||
| Steven Kneussle (C) | 1,694 | |||
| Alabama House of Representatives, District 62 Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John Merrill (R)
|
3,262 | |||
| Jerry Tingle (R) | 2,551 | |||
Presidential preference
2012
John Merrill (Alabama) endorsed Newt Gingrich in the 2012 presidential election.[6]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Merrill did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2010
Merrill's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[7]
- John’s Personal Employment with the Tuscaloosa County School System
- Excerpt: "When John announced his candidacy in July of 2009, he indicated that if successful in his bid for the State House, he would leave the Board of Education as soon as possible upon gaining meaningful employment. He was not required to take this position since Board policy allows employees to campaign for and to serve in elective office. John's position on the issue of "double-dipping" dictated his reasoning behind leaving the Board."
- Property Tax Increases
- Excerpt: "Under no circumstances is John for increasing property taxes without a vote by the people."
- Improving the Economy
- Excerpt: "Improving the state of the economy is one of John’s top priorities."
- Abortion
- Excerpt: "John is against all forms of abortion."
- Accountability and Transparency
- Excerpt: "Transparency in government promotes accountability. A transparent and accountable government is able to provide citizens with information on what the government is doing and how it affects the local community."
- Ethics Reform
- Excerpt: "John knows that strong ethical leadership is vital to every part of government."
- Education
- Excerpt: "John is committed to working with leaders of education and business and industry to find new and improved ways to serve our students in both K-12 and higher education settings."
- Economic Development
- Excerpt: "John’s experiences with the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama and as the Assistant Director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority uniquely qualify him to understand the challenges faced by local business and industries."
- The Lottery
- Excerpt: "John is against the lottery. As a Christian, and as a conservative Southern Baptist Deacon and Sunday School teacher at Calvary Baptist Church, John believes that all forms of gambling are wrong."
- Prayer in School
- Excerpt: "John believes that our citizens, especially our children, should be able to pray to Lord God Almighty any time and any place they would like."
- The Pledge of Allegiance
- Excerpt: "John believes that children in Alabama’s schools should begin everyday, in every school by saying the pledge to “Old Glory” because we are one nation under God."
- Quality of Life Issues
- Excerpt: "John believes that Legislative Discretionary money should be distributed to schools, volunteer fire departments, community ballparks and leagues, and municipalities within the district boundaries before it is distributed to groups outside the district."
- Sunday Alcohol Sales
- Excerpt: "...he believes that alcohol consumption is a personal issue. There are hundreds of people in Tuscaloosa who would like to vote on the issue of alcohol sales for a limited amount of time on Sundays."
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
2010
In 2010, Merrill's endorsements included the following:[8]
- The Alabama Tea Party Express
Noteworthy events
Admission to allegations of extramarital affair
In April 2021, Merrill admitted to having an extramarital affair and subsequently announced that he would not be running for any office in 2022. “I will obviously not be a candidate for the United States Senate nor will I be seeking any other elected position in 2022, because I think it’s important to me to make sure that I become the man that I have been before and that I am working to put myself in the position to be the leader that I have been before, as a husband, as a father, as a friend and as an elected official,” Merrill said. [9]
June 2017 request for voter rolls
On June 29, 2017, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, created by President Donald Trump (R) on May 11, requested information on registered voters from all 50 states dating back to 2006. The states were given until July 14 to respond. On June 30, Secretary Merrill announced that the state would provide only publicly available information to the commission.
| “ | The information that has been requested by the commission, which is already publicly available for purchase from the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office, will be used to improve voter roll integrity. The Secretary of State’s Office will comply with the request if we are convinced that the overall effort will produce the necessary results to accomplish the Commission’s stated goal without compromising the integrity of the voter rolls and the elections process in Alabama.[10] | ” |
| —Secretary John Merrill[11] | ||
Voter ID law and DMV closures
In November 2011, Alabama enacted a voter ID law that required all voters to have an acceptable form of photo ID in order to vote beginning in 2014.[12] On September 30, 2015, Merrill announced that 31 Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices would be closed in Alabama due to budget cuts.[13]
Opponents of Alabama's voter ID law said that the DMV office closures were unacceptable because they disproportionately affected black residents. Critics also alleged that every county in which black citizens made up more than 75 percent of the population would have its DMV office closed.[14] Merrill responded to this criticism by stating that the decision of which offices to close was due to a rural-urban divide and was not related to race.[15] Merrill also said that citizens did not need a driver's license to vote. Instead, citizens could obtain a free photo ID designed to meet the requirements of the new law. Each county in Alabama had at least one office that was able to issue these IDs.
Civil rights activists argued that this was insufficient because some of the offices that issued these voter IDs were in areas inaccessible to people who relied on public transportation. According to Talking Points Memo, of the nearly 250,000 voters who did not have one of the forms of ID necessary to vote under the 2011 law, 5,294 received a free ID in 2014.[16] Jesse Jackson referred to the situation as "a new Jim Crow" and stated that it was intended to prevent black residents from voting. In response to the accusation that the state had not done enough to prevent disenfranchisement, Merrill said, "You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink... The fact that people don’t get them, that’s not our fault.”[17]
Merrill said in December 2017 that the 2016 election had the highest voter turnout in state history. He also said 2017 had a $389,000 budget for election awareness efforts and that the state's new Vote for Alabama mobile app made it easier to register to vote. In response to Merrill's statement, Jonathan Brater of the Brennan Center for Justice said, "Even if turnout is up overall, it doesn't mean that for certain racial or economic sub-groups that it hasn't been more difficult for them to turn out."[18]
The NAACP sued the state government in 2015 on the basis that the voter ID law had violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[17] In January 2018, U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler dismissed the lawsuit. He wrote, "...a person who does not have a photo ID today is not prevented from voting if he or she can easily get one, and it is so easy to get a photo ID in Alabama, no one is prevented from voting."[19]
Committee assignments
2011-2012
Merrill served on the following committees in the 2011-2012 legislative session:
- Subcommittee on Constitutional Issues
- Subcommittee on Economic Development and Incentives
- Subcommittee on Consent Calendars
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Alabama scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the Alabama State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 4.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Office of the Secretary of State, "Biography," accessed January 19, 2015
- ↑ WHNT, "John Merrill Announces Run For Secretary Of State In 2014," January 29, 2013
- ↑ Alabama Votes, "2014 Scheduled Elections," accessed July 2, 2013
- ↑ Alabama2010.com, "Alabama GOP primary results," accessed May 5, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ Newt Gingrich 2012, "Newt 2012 Announces Alabama Leadership Team," March 12, 2012
- ↑ John Merrill's campaign website, "Campaign issues," November 2, 2010
- ↑ The Alabama Tea Party Express, "Endorsements," November 2, 2010
- ↑ Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill admits affair, won’t run for U.S. Senate," April 8, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Campaign Archive, "Secretary Merrill's Response to PCEI Request," June 30, 2017
- ↑ Alabama Photo Voter Identification, "Why Photo ID?" accessed October 9, 2015
- ↑ AL.com, Lee Roop, "State says closing driver's license offices won't limit access to voter I.D. cards," accessed October 8, 2015
- ↑ KCCU local public radio, "Justice Department Called On To Investigate Alabama Voter ID Issue," accessed October 9, 2015
- ↑ MSNBC, "AL Secretary of State defends DMV closures," accessed October 8, 2015
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Inside The Numbers: Alabama's Free Voter ID Program Reaches Few Voters," accessed October 9, 2015
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedthink - ↑ Business Insider, "Everyone is focused on Roy Moore's alleged sexual misconduct — but experts warn a bigger issue could decide Alabama's election," December 12, 2017
- ↑ AL.com, "Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Alabama voter ID law," January 10, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jim Bennett (R) |
Alabama Secretary of State 2015-2023 |
Succeeded by Wes Allen (R) |
| Preceded by Gerald Allen (R) |
Alabama House of Representatives District 62 2010-2014 |
Succeeded by Rich Wingo (R) |
| |||||||||||||||||||
