Many of the election laws being promoted in state legislatures come from guidelines put forth by the Republican National Committee’s Committee on Election Integrity, chaired by Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill.

The committee, made up for secretaries of state from Florida, Washington, Tennessee and Kentucky, along with 45 legislators from around the nation, produced a book of statutory language for states to adopt.

“Georgia has already adopted some of the things that we’re suggesting,” Merrill told the Cullman Rotary Club last week. “That will enable a higher level of election security and integrity to take place in all states in the union.”

The book consists of “best practices that are already working well” for other states, he said. “So if people want to change their laws to make sure they’re doing what they need to do in order to have successful elections in the future, they’ve got a template to use so they will know what to do and how to do it.”

The recommendations revolve around five core values of the committee:

• Election oversight should be at the state level without federal government interference;

• Adhering to a standard on voter registration that ensures that “only people of your state are voting;”

• Requiring voter ID: “The gold standard of voting is still in-person voting, on election day,” said Merrill, and voters should be required to provide identification;

• If states allow for voting by mail, “We need to make sure there is an effective and efficient way there is to do so;”

• Votes get counted in a timely fashion and follow state law. “And they don’t make up the laws as they go, which is what we saw in the 2020 cycle,” he said.

“We’re taking that to all 50 states so they can do what’s best and what’s right for their states,” said Merrill.

Even in Alabama, which received the only “A” rating from the conservative Concerned Women for America organization for election integrity, bills have been introduced at the state legislature to change voting laws.

More than two dozen bills have been introduced by members of both parties, including bills allowing no-excuse voting, prohibiting curbside voting and establishing early voting.

Merrill said he’s withdrawn his earlier support of a bill which would allow for no-excuse voting, saying during the coronavirus pandemic he was able to expand the reasons why someone would need an absentee ballot without requiring a change in state law.

“Basically, we had no-excuse absentee voting,” he said.

One bill being promoted by his office would require circuit court clerks to verify that reasons given by voters in requesting an absentee ballot matches the reason given on the affidavit voters submit with their ballots.