John Merrill

A federal judge will decide if Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill can block people on his personal Twitter account or if doing so violates their free speech rights.

Merrill and the plaintiffs in the 2018 lawsuit filed motions last month supporting their respective claims. The lawsuit filed by three blocked Twitter users contends that Merrill is putting a "viewpoint-based restriction" to information about, and interaction with, his public office.

Alabama's state elections results will be certified next week.

Secretary of State John Merrill's office says the canvassing board will meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Montgomery.

Governor Kay Ivey, Attorney General Steve Marshall and Merrill will canvass and certify election results during the meeting.

None of the statewide races had narrow margins, as Republicans swept all statewide offices.

Nearly one in 10 voters in Alabama are currently characterized as inactive and will need to update their addresses in order for their votes to count in next week’s midterm elections.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill says 301,914 voters are currently listed as inactive. He says those voters can still cast ballots on Tuesday, but they must fill out a form at their polling location in order to update their address.

Most of those voters were declared inactive during state voter roll maintenance, when the state was unable to reach the person by way of mailed postcards.

Today is the final day to register to vote in order to participate in next month's election.

People can register online to vote until 11:59 p.m. this evening. People can also register in person at their local county board of registrars' office until the close of business, which is typically 5 p.m.

Registration forms sent through the mail must be postmarked by today.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill says it's crucial for Alabamians' voices to be heard this election:

Alabama congressional candidate Mallory Hagan says a concerning number of the state’s voters have been removed from active voter rolls.

Hagan says over 55,000 voters in the 3rd Congressional District have been disqualified or labeled inactive since February of 2017. Hagan has announced a committee of lawyers who will volunteer to assist voters and monitor voter suppression concerns.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said last year that 340,162 people were put on inactive voter status, a precursor to removal.

In the race for Alabama's Attorney General, challenger Troy King is making a big issue of incumbent Steve Marshall's heavy financial support from the Republican Attorneys General Association.

King filed an ethics complaint yesterday arguing those donations are a "flagrant violation" of the state ban on transfers between political action committees, since the group took money from PACs.

RAGA attorney Charlie Spies calls the complaint a "desperate ploy" based on an "incorrect reading of the law."

Alabamians wanting to register to vote in the June 5th primary have until the end of the day today to register.

The primary election will see voters deciding on who will represent their political party in the general election in November.

John Merrill is Alabama’s Secretary of State. He says there are several ways to get registered.

More civil rights groups are challenging a federal judge's ruling that a law requiring Alabama voters to show a valid photo ID is not discriminatory.

Alabama has required voters to present government-issued photo identification at the polls since 2014. The Alabama NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries sued over the law in 2015, arguing it disproportionately affects minorities.

Some state lawmakers have reportedly received subpoenas for their campaign finance records in what appears to be a review of campaign spending.

At least two Alabama lawmakers have confirmed with the Associated Press that they received subpoenas from the state attorney general’s office. They say they believe the focus of the subpoenas is on the use of credit cards in political campaigns, and making sure all card purchases are campaign-related.

Roy Moore has filed a lawsuit to try to stop Alabama officials from certifying Democrat Doug Jones as the winner of the U.S. Senate race.

The court filing occurred just ahead of today's meeting of a state canvassing board to officially declare Jones the winner of the Dec. 12 special election. Jones defeated Moore by about 20,000 votes.

Moore's attorney wrote that he believes there were irregularities during the election and says there should be a fraud investigation and eventually a new election.

Doug Jones won last night's special election for U.S. Senate, defeating Roy Moore by 1.5% of the vote in last night’s election. Moore’s camp, though, is looking for a possible recount.

Moore refused to concede the election last night, and told his supporters “When the vote is this close, it’s not over. We still have to go by the rules, by this recount provision.”

Alabama voters have until 11:59 p.m. this evening to register to vote in order to participate in the Dec. 12 special election for the U.S. Senate between Democratic nominee Doug Jones and Republican nominee Roy Moore.

Under state law, the last day to register is the 15th day before an election, which is today. Voters can register during normal office hours at county board of registrars' offices and other designated locations in each county. Or voters can register online until 11:59 p.m. tonight.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey appears closer to announcing an upcoming run for governor after filing paperwork to create a campaign organization.

Earlier this week, Ivey filed paperwork with Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill's office to reserve the name "Kay Ivey for Governor Inc." for a nonprofit organization. Ivey spokesman Daniel Sparkman says Ivey is seriously considering running in 2018 and is "taking the steps necessary to be successful."

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill says he has questions he wants answered before turning over Alabama voter data to President Donald Trump's commission investigating alleged voter fraud.

 Merrill said Friday that there are a "number of questions we have to get answered."  He said security is one issue, but declined to name the other concerns.

Alabama's secretary of state says nearly 100 political candidates and donation groups have broken state campaign finance rules.

Yesterday, Secretary John Merrill publicly released the names of all the candidates and political action committees that failed to disclose donations by this year's January cutoff date. He says the release is intended to compel the offending PACs and candidates to file financial records of campaign contributions they either received or spent in 2016.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has announced the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions won’t be held until next year.

Governor Bentley’s office issued a news release yesterday saying a special primary election would be held June 5, 2018, with a primary runoff taking place July 17 if necessary. The special general election will be held on November 6, 2018. Those dates coordinate exactly with the 2018 General Election.

History was made last week in Alabama as more than 1.3 million votes were cast in the state for President-Elect Donald Trump.  That is the highest amount any candidate for President has ever received in Alabama, according to Secretary of State John Merrill.

Merrill attributes some of the high vote count for Trump to a surge in late registrations, after more than half a million people signed up to vote within the last year…

The secretary of state's office says a record 3.3 million voters are now registered in Alabama. Secretary of State John Merrill says more than 584,000 voters have been registered.

Merrill credits the record number of voters to a combination on online registration, a mail-in program and a partnership with the state law enforcement agency.

Alabama doesn't register voters by party, so it's impossible to say whether Republicans or Democrats gained the most potential voters.

Alabama voters head to the polls next week to name their picks for presidential nominees.

Super Tuesday, with contests in 12 states, represents the biggest single-day delegate haul in the entire nomination process. This also marks what is known as the SEC Primary where several southern states brought their elections dates together to draw more interest from the candidates. Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump and Ben Carson all plan stops in Alabama before Tuesday's election.

There is no incumbent running for Alabama secretary of state, and that's why the race has become one of the most competitive on the primary election ballot.

Three candidates are competing for the Republican nomination. State Rep. John Merrill of Tuscaloosa leads in fundraising and has picked up endorsements from the Business Council of Alabama, the Alabama Retail Association and the Alabama Farmers Federation.