Jefferson County Probate Judge Alan King said there were no crossover votes cast in the county during the Sept. 26 Republican runoff in the special election for the U.S. Senate.

Last week, King had said he believed most of the 380 voters on a preliminary list of crossover voters did not vote that day.

In an email today to Secretary of State John Merrill and other officials, King said an investigation by Board of Registrars Chairman Barry Stephenson determined all 380 were attributed to mistakes by poll workers and others.

"As (of ) 5 PM last Friday (October 27, 2017) we had every error corrected and there are no 'cross-over' votes in Jefferson County," King wrote (bold in original email).

The preliminary list of crossover voters included 674 names statewide, with by far the most in Jefferson County. Merrill sent the list to counties to verify and asked for them to report any mistakes by Nov. 6.

"That's outstanding news," Merrill said of King's report. "What it does for us is indicates that the process worked."

Merrill said he would send the verified list to prosecutors and said he wanted the those who intentionally broke the new law to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Voter fraud is a Class C felony, punishable by 1 to 10 years and a fine of up to $15,000.

"Our goal is to get to zero," Merrill said. "But if we have one, we're going to pursue that one."

The Legislature passed the no-crossover bill this year and Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law. It says that a voter who participates in a party primary cannot cross over and vote in the opposing party's ensuing runoff.

That means that those who voted in the Aug. 15 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate could not vote in the Sept. 26 Republican runoff between Roy Moore and Sen. Luther Strange. The Democrats did not have a runoff.

King said he was shocked by the initial number of crossovers because he said there were extensive efforts to get prepare for the new law.

King also said the timing of the Senate special election made that more of a challenge.

"It hurried up the process for us to put controls in place and to put controls in place in a manual system," King said.

King said beginning with the 2018 election cycle, he expects Jefferson County to have electronic poll books to check in voters, rather than printed sheets. The electronic books will show if a voter voted in a party primary. It will automate much of the process now done manually and reduce wait times for voters, King said.

King said he talked to the Jefferson County Commission about the electronic polling books at a commission work session today. He said the electronic polling books system will cost about $718,000.

For the Dec. 12 special election between Moore and Democratic nominee Doug Jones, King said the county expects to have electronic polling books at 25 or 30 of the county's precincts.

Merrill said his goal is to have electronic poll books in use in every precinct in the state by 2022.

The crossover voting law has no effect on the Dec. 12 special election, or any other general election. It only applies to primary runoffs.

King said that more than 300 of the mistakenly counted crossover votes were at one precinct. The chief inspector at the precinct decided to mark through with a highlighter the names of all the voters who had voted in the Aug. 15 Democratic primary to make sure they wouldn't vote again on Sept. 26, the procedure used for those who cast absentee votes. Those voters whose names were marked through were wrongly counted as having voted in the runoff.

Meanwhile, some Democratic lawmakers are calling for a repeal of the law and speaking out against Merrill's enforcement actions.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, wrote a letter to Merrill today, urging him to drop his plans to turn over names of crossover voters to prosecutors.

Sewell questioned whether there was adequate publicity about the new law and said the maximum penalties, which Merrill said he would support for willful violators, are extreme.

"In order to protect the integrity of our state's elections and to spare civically-engaged Alabamians from unfair felony charges, I urge you to reconsider your decision to turn over the names of crossover voters for prosecution by local district attorneys," Sewell wrote.

Merrill said he considered some of the assertions in Sewell's letter humorous. He said he was trying to protect the integrity of the elections.

"That's how you protect the integrity of the process is by identifying people who acted incorrectly," Merrill said. "Not by confirming incorrect actions and validating those and saying, 'Let's just not give that any attention this time.' To me, that's hilarious. That is hilarious."

Updated at 5:27 p.m. to add information about U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell's letter to Merrill.

Rep. Terri Sewell Letter to Secretary of State John Merrill by Mike Cason on Scribd