MONTGOMERY,
Ala. -- Secretary of State John Merrill met with the Alabama Association of
Boards of Registrars Executive Task Force to ensure that the elections
process will run accurately and efficiently in each county. Each county has
three members appointed to the Board of Registrars by, respectively, the
Governor of Alabama, Alabama State Auditor, and the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.
For each of Alabama’s 67 counties, these officers manage the registration
of voters and maintain voter registration records, certify the list of eligible
voters used to identify voters at each precinct, and chronicle voter’s
participation after each election.
The Executive Committee formed a Task Force
that worked with Secretary Merrill, on their own time, to develop strategies
that will be implemented in the Association’s next biennial meeting on May 23,
2015. The
members of this Task Force are as follows:
•
Pat Clark, Bibb
County
•
Carol Hill, Shelby
County
•
Lynda Hairston,
Madison County
•
Adonis Bailey,
Morgan County
•
Patsy Clark, Baldwin
County
•
Sammy Glover,
Covington County
•
George Noblin,
Montgomery County
•
Wilma Cephus, Hale
County
•
Don Milligan (Board
Chair), Marshall County
Secretary Merrill and the Task Force
identified areas of concern as they relate to the job tasked to each Registrar and
discussed how the lack of consistency caused discrepancies from county to
county. Then the Secretary and Task Force developed a manual that fully complies
with the Federal and State Constitutions and the Code of Alabama that can be
used to train the Board of Registrars in each county. The manual will also be
available in an online pdf version, which allows for more frequent updates as
new law is codified or old law is eliminated or changed.
“We
are excited to be working with and for Secretary of State John Merrill,” stated
Don Milligan, President of the Association of Boards of Registrars Executive
Committee from Marshall County. “He is energetic, organized, and pro-active
about the issues facing the boards of registrars; we will continue to do well
with his guidance.”
Secretary
of State Merrill says that the Task Force is instrumental in identifying issues
that will help our Office help the Boards or Registrars be more efficient and
effective.
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