John Merrill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 53rdSecretary of State of Alabama | |
| In office January 19, 2015 – January 16, 2023 | |
| Governor | Robert Bentley Kay Ivey |
| Preceded by | James Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Wes Allen |
| Member of theAlabama House of Representatives from the 62nd district | |
| In office 2010–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Gerald Allen |
| Succeeded by | Rich Wingo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Harold Merrill (1963-11-12)November 12, 1963 (age 61) Wedowee, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (before 2010) Republican (2010–present) |
| Spouse | Cindy |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Alabama (BA) |
John Harold Merrill (born November 12, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 53rdsecretary of state of Alabama from 2015 to 2023. He served in theAlabama House of Representatives from 2010 to 2014. Merrill is a member of theRepublican Party.
Merrill was born inWedowee, Alabama, and raised inHeflin, Alabama. His father served as theCleburne County circuit clerk and aprobate judge. At the age of sixteen he received theEagle Scout Award as a member of his local boy scouts troop.[1] In 1982, he graduated from Cleburne County High School. Merrill double majored inhistory andpolitics at theUniversity of Alabama and received aBachelor of Arts (BA) in 1987. Merrillinterned for theUnited States Congress from May to July 1983, where he metrepresentativeWilliam Flynt Nichols, who became his mentor. The following year, Merrill interned in the capitol forsenatorHowell Heflin between May and July 1984. He was the president of the University of Alabama'sStudent Government Association from 1986 to 1987.[2]
Merrill was the spokesperson for theTuscaloosa CountySchool District, and a business development officer for the First Federal Bank in Tuscaloosa.[2] He was elected to represent the 62nd district in theAlabama House of Representatives in the2010 elections, having previously run and lost for the same seat in 2002 as a Democrat.[3] He served in the House of Representatives for a single term from 2010 through 2014.
Merrill announced in January 2013 that he would run forSecretary of State of Alabama in the2014 elections.[3] In the Republican Partyprimary election in June 2014, Merrill finished in first, advancing to arunoff election in July,[4] which he won.[5] In the general election on November 3, 2014, he defeated Lula Albert-Kaigler, theDemocratic Party nominee with more than 60% of the vote.[6] He succeededJames R. Bennett, who had been appointed to the office to fill out the remainder of the term of the Republican incumbent representativeBeth Chapman.[7] Merrill was elected to a second full term in 2018.[8] He was term-limited and could not seek re-election in 2022, and was succeeded byWes Allen.[9]
A 2016 study by professors Bridget A. King and Norman E. Youngblood atAuburn University, found the content and quality of Alabama's county election and voting websites were lacking with relevant information regarding deadlines, polling stations, and voter requirements. King and Youngblood's 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." Furthermore, they found the extent to which voting and elections information are provided is "related to county composition."[10]
In a 2016 decision, theUnited States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit blocked Merrill from enforcing Alabama's "documentary proof of citizenship" requirement for voting. The court ruled that the addition of this requirement to the federal voter registration forms violated theNational Voter Registration Act of 1993. Alabama's law was challenged by theLeague of Women Voters.[11] The decision effectively struck down a rule that required voters in Alabama to provide proof they are American citizens. Under federal law, voters only need to swear that they are citizens in order to register to vote.[12][13]
Merrill applauded the 2013Shelby County v. Holder decision by theUnited States Supreme Court, which among other things, limits federal poll monitoring inSouthern states.[14] The court's ruling was criticized by Democratic and liberal groups like theAdvancement Project.[15]
Merrill was part of a coalition of American election officials who traveled with fellowOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) poll monitors to Russia for poll monitoring during theparliamentary elections held on September 18, 2016.[16] Merrill said that the election in Russia was "free and fair". The election was widely considered to not be free and fair, and the OSCE report found systemic problems with "serious irregularities during voting" and even worse practices during ballot counting.[16]
In June 2019, Merrill announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for aU.S. Senate seat in the 2020 election, to challenge incumbent Democratic senatorDoug Jones. He was one of several candidates for the Republican nomination; others includedRoy Moore,Bradley Byrne,Tommy Tuberville, andArnold Mooney.[17][18]
In July 2019, at a campaign event inFort Payne, Merrill said that "homosexual activities" pervasive inmainstream media had partly lead to the nation's moral decline. When asked in a follow-up interview, Merrill pointed to the media coverage of theU.S. women's national soccer team win in theWorld Cup as an instance.[19] Merrill contended that were no longer any television shows "that are based on biblical foundations" which "promote family and culture with a father, a mother, and children" present.[17] Merrill dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination in December 2019.[18]
In 2021, Merrill announced that he was canceling his planned 2022 Senate campaign, after being publicly exposed as having had an extramarital affair over a four-year period.[20]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Merrill sought to block local jurisdiction in Alabama from allowing curbside voting for immunocompromised voters. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Alabama on a 5–3 vote in late October 2020, with the court divided along ideological lines.[21]
In 2021, Merrill met withMike Lindell, founder ofMyPillow and aDonald Trump adviser, who was known for making outlandish conspiracy theories and false claims about fraud in the 2020 election. The state of Alabama subsequently sold a list of voter rolls to Lindell. When asked if he believed that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in favor of Joe Biden, Merrill refused to answer.[22] Later, after Lindell claimed that Alabama's election results were fraudulent, Merrill disputed Lindell's claim.[23]
Merrill is a relative ofHugh Davis Merrill, the formerlieutenant governor of Alabama andSpeaker of theAlabama House of Representatives,Hugh Davis Merrill Jr., who served in the House, andPelham Jones Merrill who served in the House and fought inWorld War II.
Merrill is married to the former Cindy Benford of Phil Campbell, Alabama. They were married on May 11, 1985, at Calvary Baptist Church inTuscaloosa, Alabama.[24] They have two children.
In 2015, allegations were made public that Merrill had an affair in 2010 with a local woman in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where he resided. Although he denied receiving oral sex, he finally admitted “only” to kissing and being fondled in his pants while partially dressed.[1]
In 2021, he was again accused of having an extramarital affair with a female legal assistant. Merrill denied the claim and said the woman was "stalking" and "harassing" him. When presented with a 17-minute audio tape in which the two described positions and actions in the three-year-long relationship, he admitted the affair and stated that he would not run for the US Senate in 2022, but also would not resign as Secretary of State, leaving office at the end of his term in January 2023.[20][25]
| 2010 Alabama House of Representatives 62nd district Republican primary election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | John Merrill | 3,262 | 56.12 |
| Republican | Jerry Tingle | 2,551 | 43.88 |
| 2010 Alabama House of Representatives 62nd district election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | John Merrill | 11,658 | 86.66 |
| Constitution | Steven Kneussle | 1,694 | 12.59 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 100 | 0.74 |
| 2014 Alabama Secretary of State Republican primary election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | John Merrill | 143,960 | 39.57 |
| Republican | Reese McKinney | 139,763 | 38.42 |
| Republican | Jim Perdue | 80,050 | 22.01 |
| 2014 Alabama Secretary of State Republican primary runoff election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | John Merrill | 108,740 | 53.14 |
| Republican | Reese McKinney | 95,877 | 46.86 |
| 2014 Alabama Secretary of State election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | John Merrill | 733,298 | 64.27 |
| Democratic | Lula Albert-Kaigler | 406,373 | 35.62 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 1,271 | 0.11 |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forSecretary of State of Alabama 2014, 2018 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Alabama 2015–2023 | Succeeded by |