John Merrill says farewell after 2 terms as Alabama’s secretary of state

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - After two consecutive terms in the office, John Merrill’s time as Alabama’s secretary of state has come to an end. Monday, he was given a farewell reception at his office in the Capitol.

The outgoing secretary said despite this chapter in his career ending, he looks back at how exciting his term was.

“Some of the things that we have done have really changed the dynamics of this office,” said Merrill, noting that he and his team broke records for both the state’s voting totals and voting registration. Merrill said 3,701,321 voters registered while he was in office.

The secretary also pointed out that during his term, entrepreneurs registered new Alabama businesses on a daily basis.

“When we took office, there were delays in business filings,” said Merrill, adding the office was not operating at the speed of government but at the speed of business.

And as his successor, incoming Secretary Wes Allen, Merrill says he has the experience to do the job.

“He should be prepared to take advantage of some of the opportunities to work with other states and to ensure that Alabama continues to be the number one state in the union for election integrity, transparency, and accountability,” said Merrill.

Merrill said that once he leaves office at the end of the week, he’ll begin a new position in the private sector, working with developing communities in Alabama. He said he would announce where he’ll be working next in the near future.

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