This year, there are four candidates vying for the Republican nomination for Alabama Secretary of State. The current officeholder, John Merrill, can’t run again due to term limits.
One of the candidates hoping to replace Merrill is the current State Auditor Jim Zeigler, who said his experience makes him the most qualified person running for the position.
Tuesday, on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program,” Zeigler discussed how he would continue to protect Alabama’s election system from voter fraud and federal overreach if elected to be Alabama’s Secretary of State.
“I will lead the fight against the federalization of our elections,” he said. “The so-called progressives nationally, now I could think of some other terms to call them, but progressives are leading the fight to have Washington take over the administration of elections.”
The candidate reiterated that Democrats in Washington, D.C. shouldn’t be in charge of elections in the Yellowhammer State.
“We do not need the Joe Biden administration and Nancy Pelosi to be administering Alabama’s elections,” he argued. “We can run our own elections right here in the state of Alabama.”
Zeigler said he would fight back against any attempts by the federal government to get too involved in Alabama’s elections.
“Both here in the state by vigilance to see what they’re doing,” he explained, “and by litigation defense, if they bring frivolous lawsuits against Alabama’s elections, I will fight against any and all moves to federalize our state elections. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t say anything about running state elections and I will oppose it.”
He also argued that progressives were wrong in claiming that there had been voter suppression in this state.
“[T]he progressives are opposed to Alabama’s voter ID requirements,” he said. “They say it’s a suppression of votes to get a photo ID in order to vote. Well, that is a Fig Newton of their imaginations, to use a little comedy on what is a ridiculous position. There is no voter suppression in our voter ID laws. Anybody in Alabama can get either a driver’s license or a non-driver photo ID for free.”
Zeigler said that his experience as auditor would help him be an effective leader in this fight.
“I intend as the Secretary of State to be a watchman for election integrity and against election fraud,” he continued, “and that is a leadership role that I have had to exercise as the State Auditor and I will continue to be a watchman for the public as the Secretary of State.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
