The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing the State of Alabama after it removed noncitizens from its voter rolls.
According to the DOJ, Alabama’s action was too close to election day. Alabama cannot remove voters from its registration list within 90 days of an election.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release that it is “critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance mailings sent in violation of federal law.”
“Officials across the country should take heed of the National Voter Registration Act’s clear and unequivocal restrictions on systematic list maintenance efforts that fall within 90 days of an election,” Clarke explained. “The Quiet Period Provision of federal law exists to prevent eligible voters from being removed from the rolls as a result of last-minute, error-prone efforts. The Justice Department will continue to use all the tools it has available to ensure that the voting rights of every eligible voter are protected.”
The DOJ alleges that Alabama began removing noncitizens from voter rolls 84 days before the election. The Department further claims that “both native-born and naturalized U.S. citizens have received letters stating that their voter record has been made inactive and that they have been placed on a path for removal from Alabama’s statewide voter registration list.”
The Justice Department seeks injunctive relief that would “restore the ability of impacted eligible voters to vote unimpeded on Election Day,” the press release notes.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen made efforts to remove noncitizens from voter rolls after being sworn into office in 2023.
“I have been clear that I will not tolerate the participation of noncitizens in our elections,” Allen said. “I have even gone so far as to testify before a United States Senate Committee regarding the importance of this issue. We have examined the current voter file in an attempt to identify anyone who appears on that list that has been issued a noncitizen identification number.”
Allen noted that those who were previously issued noncitizen identification numbers and have since become naturalized citizens would be able to update their information on the State of Alabama Voter Registration Form.
Noncitizen identification numbers are issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
