Viral video is not evidence of voter fraud, Merrill says

By | December 21, 2017 at 12:36 PM CST - Updated August 14 at 10:10 AM

MONTGOMERY, AL (WAFF) - A controversial video going viral is not evidence of voter fraud, according to Secretary of State John Merrill.

The video was broadcast on election night from Doug Jones headquarters. It shows a young man being interviewed who says "we came here all the way from different parts of the country as part of our fellowship.

And, all of us pitched in together to vote and canvass together, and we got our boy elected!". Many people contacted the Alabama Secretary of State, saying the man admitted to getting out-of-staters to come into Alabama and vote for Doug Jones.

On Thursday morning, Merrill announced that investigators located the man and spoke with him. Merrill's office issued the following statement about the video:

"Thanks to the help of concerned citizens interested in the credibility and the integrity of the electoral process, the Alabama Secretary of State's Office was able to identify the young man who was anonymously featured on the news broadcast. After additional research was conducted, it was determined that this young man has lived and worked in Alabama for more than one year and is currently a registered voter in this state. We applaud this young man's energy, excitement, and enthusiasm for the electoral process and we are always encouraged when we observe Alabamians who are actively engaged in campaigns and elections in our state."

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