John Merrill Responds To Wes Allen
- John Merrill
- 3 hours ago
- 7 min read
By John Merrill April's 23, 2025
As I stated in my earlier article, I have chosen not to respond to the negative comments and attacks on my performance and character up to this point because they are unfounded and unnecessary. I know the truth, and not all allegations warrant a response. However, I felt compelled to address the Congressional testimony since those statements insulted the dedicated individuals who have worked to ensure that Alabama’s elections are safe, secure, and transparent.
My article addressed several concerns regarding the current state of election administration in Alabama. In my communication, there was no name-calling and no personal derogatory comments about Wes Allen. Instead, I acknowledged his role as Secretary of State, addressed his statements about the voter rolls, and highlighted the misrepresentations surrounding these issues. Interestingly, Secretary Allen’s response to the media did not address those points; he resorted to name-calling, innuendo, and personal attacks.
I am delighted to know that Secretary Allen, like many of my fellow Christians and those who wish to learn more about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His life, death, and resurrection, celebrated Easter Sunday in a congregational fellowship yesterday. A simple check of my social media entry from last night would have shown that my family and I had the experience that was shared by most Alabamians when we attended our fellowship in rural Winston County.
It is unfortunate that during my eight years of service, Secretary Allen missed many of the key steps we took to improve our office and the work we accomplished. We successfully broke every record in the state for voter participation and voter registration, records that still stand today. Additionally, we significantly reduced the wait times for starting a new business in Alabama, a long-standing issue for our office.
During my administration, we passed more than 50 pieces of legislation that streamlined voter registration and business administration filings in the state. Our achievements have been recognized by national leaders and numerous state leaders across the nation. Many representatives visited the Office of the Secretary of State to praise our work and to learn from our successes in Montgomery, even recalibrating their own operations based on what they observed!
I am not surprised that Secretary Allen chose to bring up the embarrassing revelation of my infidelity from over five years ago in his calculated personal attack. It might seem interesting or even strange that I feel thankful and comfortable with him mentioning this, but it gives me the opportunity to remind all readers of these articles that I, like many of you, serve a risen Savior who is not only forgiving but also accepting of those of us who have fallen short of living the lives we're called to lead.
Over the past five years, I have worked to restore the relationships I hurt, with the Lord's help. This journey has allowed me to honor and recognize my Lord and Savior as one who forgives sins and restores lives. Through forgiveness, I have also been able to forgive Secretary Allen for his personal attacks on me, which included using derogatory names and condemning my past instead of offering the support a Christian brother should provide. His actions aimed to harm both me and my family by attempting to defame my character publicly.
As the hymn says, “I serve a risen Savior; He’s in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy; I hear His voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him, He’s always near. He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives! He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart!” I do not live to serve man; I live to serve and bring recognition to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am honored that Secretary Allen recognized me as Alabama’s Republican Secretary of State; I am the only Republican in the history of our state to serve two full terms. When I took the oath of office on January 19, 2015, I pledged to uphold the Constitution of Alabama and to serve all the people of our state.
In reference to my interaction with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, some elected officials—both Republican and Democrat—may believe their only duty is to represent their own party, I feel it is my responsibility to represent all Alabamians. Therefore, whenever a presidential candidate came to Alabama to campaign for our nation’s highest office, I believed it was essential to treat them with the respect and dignity due to any visitor in our state. This included eight Republicans and two Democrats who campaigned in Alabama during the 2016 election.
This was the largest number of candidates to ever visit our state during a presidential cycle.
While I was proud to cast my ballot for President Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, it is crucial to remember that hundreds of thousands of people in our state voted for Senator Sanders, Secretary Clinton, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and others with whom I may disagree. It is important to acknowledge that everyone is entitled to their own opinions regarding political candidates who campaign in our state, and that no matter their party affiliation, every individual should be treated with respect and dignity. I continue to uphold this belief in my work in the private sector today.
As far as my trip to Russia is concerned, it is true that in September of 2016, I was selected by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to be an international election observer to evaluate, assess, and provide reports from the elections in Russia. Notably, I was the highest-ranking elected official in the United States in this delegation. It was a valuable opportunity to engage with citizens from both our country and others as we observed the election process in Russia. We documented various concerns and shared notable issues that needed to be communicated to other international observers.
It is also true that I was privileged to serve as an international visitor to China with a delegation of Secretaries of State from across the nation in April and May of 2015 where I was introduced to the Chinese culture which allowed me to meet many Chinese officials and talk about issues of importance in our nation and in China. I was able to return to China in the summer of 2019 to speak at an international conference as well as to visit the corporate headquarters of one of Alabama’s most significant employers in the Black Belt, Golden Dragon Copper Tubing, whose first international investment was located in Wilcox County!
My interaction with these governmental officials allowed our state to benefit from expedited shipping of protective masks less than eight months later, when our nation and the world were impacted by the COVID-19 virus. It also allowed me to, in some instances, reduce and in others eliminate barriers that had been placed for many families in our state involving international adoptions. It also allowed me to introduce some educational institutions in our nation to educational institutions in China to promote approved exchanges for cultural, social, and educational purposes.
I make no apologies for the interactions with individuals who were able to help our state overcome obstacles that would have been more difficult otherwise. And my participation in the US Heartland China Association allowed us to continue to make sure the work we had initiated in China was brought to fruition once I returned. Through this Association, we facilitated interactions with Alabama Farmers Federation, institutions of higher learning with a concentration in agriculture, and some of Alabama’s most outstanding citizens – our farmers – who were able to take advantage of new markets, sell goods, and make products available to those markets.
It should also be noted that prior to my visits to Russia and to China, I had pre-departure meetings with sworn officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). They examined the technology that I planned to take with me. Upon my return from these trips, I provided the FBI with the same technology, all my gifts, and the purchases I had made during my trip at my post-trip debriefing sessions with those officials each time.
The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which has been incorrectly labeled as a liberal organization by Sec. Allen and others, has been operating for nearly 15 years without any security breaches. There have been no incidents or occurrences regarding the loss or exposure of personal information from any member state, republican or democrat. ERIC assisted our state and others in identifying those who needed to be removed from the voter rolls because those individuals had moved out of Alabama, they had passed away, or they had been convicted of disqualifying felonies. It also checked for and reported the names of individuals who had participated in more than one election in the same or multiple states in the same election cycle. Although I have repeatedly asked Secretary Allen to support the negative claims against ERIC, he has been unable to identify a single instance or occurrence that substantiates these allegations, even after three years.
It was the greatest honor of my life to serve as an elected official for the State of Alabama. The people I represented in the Alabama legislature often speak about the improvements I was able to help them achieve during my time in office, including infrastructure projects, legislative successes, and individual support. As the 53rd Secretary of State of Alabama, our office was recognized as the most efficient in state government. The changes we implemented resulted in a transformation that serves as a model for other state agencies.
Those are the truths and not up for debate. It has been my experience that when the empirical data necessary does not exist to support one’s argument, many individuals will resort to false allegations and name-calling. We all know that the people of Alabama deserve better than that.