The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing the State of Alabama and Secretary of State Wes Allen for removing more than 3,000 names from its list of registered voters in a purge of non-citizens from being able to vote in the state.
The DOJ claims the decision violated the National Voter Registration Act because it was done too close to election day. The federal law requires states to observe a 90-day quiet period during which officials cannot “systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters.”
“The State’s unlawful actions here have confused and deterred U.S. citizens who are fully eligible to vote – the very scenario that Congress tried to prevent when it enacted the Quiet Period Provision,” the lawsuit says.
Allen announced in August that he had identified 3,251 individuals who are registered to vote in Alabama who have been issued noncitizen identification numbers by the Department of Homeland Security. He then instructed 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.
Sec. Allen responded to the DOJ lawsuit in a statement to Yellowhammer News on Monday.
“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. “As to the question regarding the Department of Justice’s lawsuit, this office does not comment on pending litigation where the Secretary of State is a named defendant.”
Earlier this year, several voting rights groups also warned Allen they might pursue legal action against his purge non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls. The coalition, which includes the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the League of Women Voters, and others, sent a letter accusing Allen of violating the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
“I will not bow down to threats from ultra-liberal activist groups who will stop at nothing in their quest to see noncitizens remain on Alabama’s voter rolls,” Allen said at the time.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
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