“The lawsuit filed today claims that the photo ID
requirement is an impediment to voting in our state. Empirical data would indicate that the photo
ID requirement is in no way a barrier or obstacle to voting,” said Secretary
Merrill. “The photo ID requirement was
designed to preserve the credibility and the integrity of the electoral
process. I voted for and was a
co-sponsor of House Bill 19 that became Act Number 2011-673 in 2011, and I will
defend the rights and freedoms of all our eligible citizens to register to
vote, obtain a qualified photo voter ID, and participate in the electoral
process!”
“In the office of the Secretary of State, we want to make it
real easy to vote and real hard to cheat. As of today, there have been no
credible reports of a lack of ability for someone to cast their vote because of
this law. We are going to continue to register
all eligible Alabamians to vote, we are going to abide by the photo ID law
passed by the Alabama Legislature, and we are going to issue qualified
government photo IDs to preserve voting integrity as long as I have the
privilege to serve our citizens in this capacity!”
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