Opinion ID: 4549957
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Defendant-Appellee John Merrill

Text: Defendant John H. Merrill is being sued in his official capacity as the Secretary of State of Alabama. The Secretary of State is Alabama’s chief election official. He is charged with issuing photo voter ID cards and informing the public about the voter ID law’s requirements. See Ala. Code §§ 17-9-30(f), (l), (n). Secretary Merrill also has authority to promulgate administrative rules to implement the voter ID law. Id. § 17-9-30(o). B. Procedural History Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit, claiming the 2011 voter ID law violates the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution, as well as Section 2 of the VRA, arguing the passage of the law was motivated by racial discrimination and that the law has a discriminatory effect. They also claim the “Positively Identify Provision” (“PIP”) constitutes an illegal “test or device” in violation of 26 Case: 18-10151 Date Filed: 07/21/2020 Page: 27 of 97 Section 201 of the VRA. Secretary Merrill denies these claims and argues that the law is constitutional, nondiscriminatory, and valid. He also argues that the PIP is valid and does not violate Section 201 of the VRA. Merrill filed a motion for summary judgment, while Plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary judgment. The court considered both motions at the same time and granted Merrill’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing all claims and denying Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment. The district court found that Plaintiffs failed to show that the voter ID law in fact discriminates against Alabamians on the basis of race. Although it was undisputed that minority registered voters are statistically more likely than white voters to lack the required ID, the district court determined that “a person who does not have a photo ID today is not prevented from voting if he or she can easily get one, and it is so easy to get a photo ID in AL, no one is prevented from voting.” The district court concluded that no discriminatory impact existed because free IDs are issued in every county, or at an individual’s home, under conditions that any registered voter can meet. Plaintiffs-Appellants timely filed this appeal.