Alabama Secretary Of State Giving Names Of 'Crossover Voters' To Attorney General

MONTGOMERY, AL - Voters who crossed party lines to vote in both the Democratic primary and Republican primary for the U.S. Senate election are in trouble with Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill. Merrill has collected the names of 674 people who voted in the Democratic primary - which was won outright by Doug Jones - then later voted in the Republican runoff between Roy Moore and Luther Strange.

Merrill said he will submit those names to the Alabama Attorney General's office. What the AG does with that information is up to him, however. The act of voting in both primaries became illegal this year. and this special senate election was the first election where the law was enforced. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Birmingham Patch morning newsletter.)

Merrill has received some criticism over his enforcement of the new law since many voters may not be familiar with the law itself. Merrill has insisted he is merely doing his job, and that it is up to the prosecutors to take further action.

"We are not bullying anybody," Merrill said in a statement. "We are enforcing the law."

Image is from Patch file photos