from 2003 to 2005, merritt served as executive director for the center for civic responsibility. in 2005, he founded grassroots initiative, a nonprofit organization that seeks to "provide easy political access for underrepresented groups and other political outsiders". in 2006, as president of grassroots initiative, merritt helped elect the first sikhs to political office in new york city. in 2009, under contract from the new york city department of education, merritt helped run the first exclusively online public election in the united states.