John Merrill creates new bipartisan Voter Fraud Reform Task Force
Secretary of State John Merrill announced yesterday the formation of a Voter Fraud Reform Task Force. The task force will consist of 15 members, including the Secretary of State as the Chairman. The group will meet on September 30, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Alabama State House in Room 123 on 11 South Union Street in Montgomery. The meeting will be open to the general public. Secretary Merrill stated, “We believe it is necessary to examine how we define voter fraud in our state and the penalties we assess for voter fraud violations. It is important to note that we assembled a team of respected Alabamians from diverse backgrounds and political persuasions. “If or when instances of voter fraud are identified, we want to investigate each reported case, and if it is warranted, seek an indictment and then ensure that all guilty parties are convicted after a successful prosecution. However, we believe that it is important to ensure that any individual convicted of voter fraud is punished in an appropriate way and in accordance with the Constitution, as well as state and federal laws.” Earlier this week, Sec. Merrill met with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Lindell, who is currently being sued by Dominion Voting Systems, has been traveling the country in an effort to prove the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump by computer manipulation, Al.com reported. In a video posted online, Lindell said while Alabama is a “role model as to how elections should go,” its voting system was “hacked…just like every other state,” possibly by accessing machines remotely through Bluetooth technology. Lindell claims 100,000 votes were changed in Alabama, although he did not offer any evidence of his claims. Merrill said Lindell is expected to return to Alabama to examine the equipment and talk to probate judges. Lindell bought a copy of Alabama’s voting rolls for $30,000. For the 2020 election in Alabama, roughly 2.3 million votes were cast for Donald Trump (1,441,170) and Joe Biden (849,624). Merrill said that’s not possible, telling Al.com, “All our (voting) machines are custom-built. There’s no modem component. You can’t influence them through a cell phone or a landline. There’s no way they can be probed or numbers manipulated.” Merrill said Lindell is expected to return to Alabama to examine the equipment and talk to probate judges. Merrill posted on Twitter, “Last night I was excited to talk to Josh Marcus of The @Independent, which is a media outlet in the United Kingdom! I was happy to talk to him about our successful administration of the 2020 general election and how we continue to make it #EasyToVoteAndHardToCheat in Alabama!” Originally tweeted by John Merrill (@JohnHMerrill) on September 23, 2021. The members of the task force are Secretary of State John H. Merrill, Senator Sam Givhan (R), Senator Bobby Singleton (D), Representative Matt Simpson (R), Representative Merika Coleman (D), Bullock County Probate Judge James Tatum, Houston County Circuit Clerk Carla Woodall, Montgomery County Sheriff Derek Cunningham, District Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Michael Jackson, Reid Harris of the Attorney General’s Office, retired Circuit Judge John England, Matt Clark of the Alabama Policy Institute, Southern Poverty Law Center founder Morris Dees, Lu Rivera of Eagle Forum, and Dillon Nettles of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Alabama leading US in COVID-19 death rate over last week
Alabama has averaged more than 100 deaths a day from COVID-19 over the last week, statistics showed Thursday, giving it the nation’s highest death rate over the period even as hospitalizations linked to the coronavirus pandemic continue to decline. Statistics from Johns Hopkins University show 106 deaths were reported statewide daily over the last seven days, although some of those could have occurred earlier because of a lag in reporting. Alabama’s rate of 18 deaths for every 100,000 people over the last week is far above second-place West Virginia, which had 10 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase in deaths come as hospitalizations in the state fell below 1,800 patients for the first time in a month, a change health officials said likely was due to both people getting well and dying. While more people are getting vaccinated than before the highly contagious delta strain took hold, the state still has one of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, and its chief health officer said still more people need to get shots because the risk of getting infected remains high. “Increasing vaccine rates remains critical to reduce cases of COVID-19,” Dr. Scott Harris, head of the Alabama Department of Public Health, said in a statement Thursday. Nearly 13,800 people have died of COVID-19 in Alabama, according to state health statistics. The death count is the 16th highest in nationally and fifth-highest per capita at nearly 280 deaths per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has declined by 1,011, a decrease of more than 25%. There were 949 new cases per 100,000 people in Alabama over the past two weeks, which ranks ninth in the United States. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Kay Ivey’s special session call focused on prison construction
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday issued the call for next week’s special session that largely focuses on prison construction as the chief response to the state’s longstanding problems in corrections. Ivey is calling lawmakers back to Montgomery to vote on a $1.3 billion prison construction plan that will use $400 million from the state’s virus relief funds to build three new prisons and renovate others. “I am pleased and extremely hopeful that we are finally positioned to address our state’s prison infrastructure challenges,” Ivey said in a statement. “While this issue was many years in the making, we stand united to provide an Alabama solution to this Alabama problem.” The construction is the centerpiece of the special session call, but it does include two policy changes: proposals to make retroactive both the 2013 sentencing standards and a 2015 law on mandatory supervision of inmates. However, that is far short of sweeping reforms and leadership changes some advocacy groups say are needed to address violence, overcrowding, and other problems. The construction proposal calls for at least three new prisons — at least a 4,000-bed prison in Elmore County with enhanced space for medical and mental health care needs; another at least 4,000-bed prison in Escambia County; and a women’s prison — as well as renovations to existing facilities. The projects would be done in phases and funded with a $785 million bond issue, $150 million in general fund dollars, and $400 million from the state’s $2.2 billion shares of American Rescue Plan funds. The sentencing change would allow 200 or so nonviolent inmates sentenced before 2013 to ask for a new sentence under the presumptive sentencing guidelines approved in 2013. The change was recommended by the governor’s study commission on criminal justice policy that said there are some inmates “much lengthier than the sentence they may have received under the presumptive standards that became effective at that time.” Bennet Wright, executive director of the Alabama Sentencing Commission, said they are trying to determine how many inmates would be affected by the sentencing change, but “last time we reviewed this policy last year there were approximately 200 offenders that were potentially eligible pursuant to this legislation.” Limiting the sentencing change to nonviolent inmates excludes most prisoners. Some lawmakers and advocacy groups said the state should do more to address policy, sentencing, and leadership. “We’ll just have shiny new buildings with old problems,” Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said unless the state enacts comprehensive sentencing reform and leadership changes in corrections and the state parole board. Dillon Nettles, director of policy and advocacy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said the organization is disappointed that the governor is “limiting the upcoming special session to prison infrastructure and only one minor sentencing reform.” “Our leaders need to ensure that we are not just building more prisons, but that we are devoting time to creating comprehensive and progressive policies that address the harsh conditions and unfair practices that currently plague our system. Alabama needs new policies, not new buildings,” Nettles said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Tommy Tuberville works to increase servicemembers’ life insurance coverage
Sen. Tommy Tuberville joined Senators Kevin Cramer and Rick Scott to introduce the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act. This legislation aims to increase the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) coverage from $400,000 to $500,000. SGLI and VGLI coverage amounts have remained the same since 2005. Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated, “Our military families support our warfighters in the dangers of battle and through the most difficult times. We hope they never receive that horrible call, but when one of our service members pays the ultimate sacrifice, their family should be taken care of. This legislation is one way to ease their financial worries and hopefully alleviate the peripheral stress that comes with mourning the loss of a loved one.” This legislation is one way to ease their financial worries and hopefully alleviate the peripheral stress that comes with mourning the loss of a loved one pic.twitter.com/J2Kmo7tGcJ — Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) September 22, 2021 North Dakota Senator Cramer commented, “While inflation is on the rise in the United States, the maximum amount we allow for beneficiaries of certain VA life insurance policies has remained stagnant for over 15 years. Our bill would authorize a significant raise in that maximum amount so veterans can better provide their families with stability and peace of mind for the future.” “As a Navy veteran and the son of a World War II veteran, I know firsthand the sacrifices our men and women in uniform and their families make to defend our freedom. The Supporting Families of the Fallen Act provides families of fallen service members and veterans with the resources they deserve after the tragic loss of a loved one. I urge my colleagues to support this good bill,” Florida Senator Scott said.
Border Patrol: Despite Alejandro Mayorkas’ claims, 60% of migrants being released into U.S. communities
Despite claims made by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the majority of those entering the U.S. illegally are not being deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the head of the Border Patrol union, Brandon Judd, told The Center Square. Mayorkas, who traveled to Del Rio, Texas, where nearly 15,000 Haitian migrants gathered this past week, warned illegal immigrants at a news conference, “If you come to the United States illegally, you will be returned, your journey will not succeed, and you will be endangering your life and your family’s life.” Likewise, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that DHS, Border Patrol, ICE, and the U.S. Coast Guard were moving individuals from Del Rio to other processing locations in order to take individuals into custody, process them and remove them from the country. It added that DHS was securing additional transportation to accelerate the pace and increase the capacity of removal flights to Haiti and other destinations in the hemisphere within the next 72 hours. But the agency hasn’t confirmed how many flights and how many Haitians have been deported. A few days later, at another news conference in Del Rio on Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, when asked about the Biden administration’s deportation flight plans, said, “They have shown no capability of being able to process these migrants by the end of this week. The only thing they’ve shown is an incapability of dealing with this crisis, candidly, in a way they pretend it doesn’t even exist. And we’re here to tell you it exists.” The Associated Press reported that Haitians have been released on a “very, very large scale” in recent days, with one official estimating the number of those releases is in the thousands. “The first three [deportation] flights that went to Haiti included family units” who were deported, Judd said. But deportations are on a case-by-case basis, he added, and inconsistent. For example, “if the flights focus on deporting people to Haiti, the flights to Guatemala stop, and those people are released,” he said. “So, all you’re doing is robbing Peter to pay Paul. You’re shifting resources to handle one segment, and you’re releasing the other segment. Not all the people from Haiti are being flown back; not all the people are being expelled from under Title 42. A good number of them are, in fact, being released with an NTA (Notice to Appear) or NTR (Notice to Return),” notices related to the immigration court process. Border Patrol agents make official arrests and transfer individuals to ICE facilities. ICE then determines whether they are released with an order to reappear for court hearings to go through the process to remain in the U.S. or be deported. Haitians already processed and released into the community were observed boarding buses at the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition in Del Rio. Roughly 50-60 Haitians at a time boarded a large commercial charter bus, and smaller groups were shuttled in a grey rundown minivan to the local bus station. With brown envelopes in hand, a mix of families and individuals also carried with them food, cash, and papers to help them reach their next destination. When asked where the bus was going, the first stop was San Antonio, with a final destination of Houston, The Center Square was told. Officials wouldn’t confirm if the Haitians were boarding planes to another destination or if San Antonio or Houston were their final destinations. This group of Haitians had already been processed by Border Patrol and released into the general population. Meanwhile, a steady flow of people continued to cross the Rio Grand River farther upstream from the bridge, crossing onto private property on a heavily trafficked area on Vega Verde, where Texas Department of Public Safety officers were waiting to detain them and call Border Patrol for pickup. DHS has also been busing Haitians to El Paso, Laredo, and cities in the Rio Grande Valley for processing, also adding them to flights to Tucson, Arizona, the Associated Press reported. Judd said of the roughly 200,000 apprehensions that Border Patrol makes, “they are probably dealing with 120,000 people because sometimes the same person or people are apprehended more than once. Of those, it’s right about 60-68 percent are being released [into the community] with NTAs. The vast majority are not being expelled or deported. The majority are being released into the United States.” When asked if this ratio applied to Haitians under the Del Rio Bridge, he said, “If we go off, historically speaking, the majority of the ones under the bridge will be released.” But this number can shift depending on which segment of the population ICE chooses to deport, he added. ICE “can say we’re going to send all the Haitians back, but then we’re going to release all the other people from another country. Or we can release the Haitians.” In response to being asked if there’s consistency in this process, he replied, “Zero consistency.” Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor
