Alabama Secretary Of State Stresses Election Integrity Importance

MONTGOMERY, AL — As the country awaits results from five states to determine the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said while Alabama's election ran smoothly, the delay and problems in other states emphasizes that changes need to be made in the process.

"While claims of ‘fraudulent voting’ are running rampant in the media and by campaigns, the public’s confidence in American elections is quickly diminishing," Merrill said. "America deserves election results in a timely, secure, and efficient manner. During this time of unrest and uncertainty, it has never been clearer that each respective state should have uniform election laws statewide."

Merrill, a Republican who has supported Pres. Donald Trump and even briefly entered the race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, said he does believe that states should be able to run their elections without federal government overreach, but said a more uniform election process should be put in place.

"We are privileged to live in the greatest country in the world," Merrill said. "In this Union, we are afforded many rights – including the right to freely and fairly participate in the electoral process. Among these freedoms comes the responsibility for each state to freely administer elections, without federal overreach."

Merrill, however, said that many of the states the country is currently waiting on to report results have inconsistent election laws that vary from county to county, and that any of the changes seen in election administration came without legislative approval or the guidance of other state officers, which he said he believes have contributed to lengthy wait times at polls and inconsistent reporting of results.

However, the changes in Alabama's election process for 2020, including absentee voting for people wary of COVID-19 exposure, were made without legislative approval. The decision to start counting absentee ballots the morning of Election Day was made by Gov. Kay Ivey, and the decision to allow voters an absentee ballot due to fear of COVID-19 was made by Merrill's office.

Merrill said after Tuesday's election that Alabama's count of a record number of absentee ballots was executed without incident and proved fair and effective.

“America must do better, because the American people deserve better," Merrill said. "Legally cast ballots must be counted in a transparent and credible manner. The integrity of the electoral process is the backbone of our democracy. I am proud that in Alabama, we continue to set a standard for election excellence through the hard work and dedication of our election officials at every level."