The Department of Justice has sued the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State for allegedly purging noncitizens from its voter rolls too close to November’s general election.
“The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State to challenge a systematic State program aimed at removing voters from its election rolls too close to the Nov. 5 general election, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA),” the Justice Department stated in a press release.
“As Election Day approaches, 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. 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,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
According to The Guardian, Wes Allen, Alabama’s Republican secretary of state, in August announced an initiative “to remove noncitizens registered to vote in Alabama.”
Justice Department Sues Alabama for Violating Federal Law’s Prohibition on Systematic Efforts to Remove Voters Within 90 Days of an Election
: https://t.co/5vFAY6oKIq pic.twitter.com/CqVo9b9yzr
— DOJ Civil Rights Division (@CivilRights) September 27, 2024
Allen said he identified “3,251 individuals who are registered to vote in Alabama who have been issued noncitizen identification numbers by the Department of Homeland Security.”
Thousands Of Non-Citizens Found Registered To Vote In GOP-Led State
“The Secretary announced today that he is instructing the Boards of Registrars in all 67 counties to immediately inactivate and initiate steps necessary to remove all individuals who are not United States Citizens,” Allen’s office stated in a press release.
“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,” he added.
🚨New: Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen has discovered thousands of non-citizens who were registered to vote in the State of Alabama. pic.twitter.com/bQPNTazHc3
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) August 16, 2024
From The Guardian:
The lawsuit asks for injunctive relief that would restore the ability of affected eligible voters to vote on 5 November.
“I was elected secretary of state by the people of Alabama, and it is my constitutional duty to ensure that only American citizens vote in our elections,” Allen said in a statement issued on Friday night. He said he could not comment on pending litigation.
Allen in August acknowledged the possibility that some of the people identified had become naturalized citizens since receiving their noncitizen number. He said they would need to update their information on a state voter registration form and would be able to vote after it was verified.
The Campaign Legal Center, the Fair Elections Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center earlier this month filed a lawsuit also challenging the voter roll purge. They said the state purge targets naturalized citizens who once had noncitizen identification numbers before gaining citizenship.
Alabama illegally purged voters too close to election, Justice Department says https://t.co/S7vG7fbjle
— Axios (@axios) September 27, 2024
DOJ SUES Alabama For Removing illegal Voters!
The Department of Justice yesterday announced they are suing the state of Alabama and Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen after they removed illegal voters from the state rolls, citing a violation of law that does not allow voters… pic.twitter.com/QmCIG8sRpz
— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) September 28, 2024
Per the Department of Justice:
Section 8(c)(2) of the NVRA, also known as the Quiet Period Provision, requires states to complete systematic programs aimed at removing the names of ineligible voters from voter registration lists by no later than 90 days before federal elections. The Quiet Period Provision applies to certain systematic programs carried out by states that are aimed at striking names from voter registration lists based on a perceived failure to meet initial eligibility requirements — including citizenship — at the time of registration. The Quiet Period is an important protection for voters, because systematic removal programs may be error-ridden, cause voter confusion and remove eligible voters days or weeks before Election Day who may be unable to correct the state’s errors in time to vote or may be dissuaded from voting at all. States may remove names from official lists of voters in various ways and for various reasons, but they may not carry-on this kind of systematic removal program so close to a federal election.
On Aug. 13, the Secretary of State announced the launch of a “process to remove noncitizens registered to vote in Alabama.” This was 84 days before the Nov. 5 general election. The Justice Department’s review found 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 letter directs recipients who are in fact U.S. citizens and eligible to vote to complete and submit an attached State of Alabama Voter Registration Form. In turn, that form instructs that people may not register to vote in the 14 days before an election. This systematic voter removal program, which the State is conducting within 90 days of the upcoming federal election, violates the Quiet Period Provision.
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