Secretary of State Wes Allen announced Tuesday that he is instructing the Boards of Registrars in all 67 counties to immediately initiate steps to remove all individuals who are not United States citizens from Alabama’s voter rolls.
Press Release: Secretary of State Wes Allen Implements Process to Remove Noncitizens Registered to Vote in Alabama
Read more here: https://t.co/AVu37jdAFk pic.twitter.com/J3k1gVTrLP
— Wes Allen Alabama Secretary of State (@alasecofstate) August 13, 2024
“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 said he has identified 3,251 individuals who are registered to vote in Alabama who have been issued noncitizen identification numbers by the Department of Homeland Security.
“This is not a one-time review of our voter file. We will continue to conduct such reviews to do everything possible to make sure that everyone on our file is an eligible voter,” he said. “I am hopeful that in the near future the federal government will change course and be helpful to states as we work to protect our elections.”
According to the press release, Allen’s office has tried to work with the federal government on this issue, but hey have repeatedly declined to assist Allen’s efforts by providing a list of noncitizens currently residing in Alabama have been declined.
During his testimony in front of the Senate earlier this year, he discussed his issues with trying to get cooperation from the Biden administration.
“They told us to use the SAVE program, which is the Systematic Alien Verification Entitlement program database,” Allen said. “But the thing is, the SAVE program database does not allow states to verify citizenship through that database. So that’s really all we have. We tried. You know, the federal government, the federal courts, have blocked previous efforts by states to verify citizenship.
“I think it’s important now more than ever, especially given what’s happening at our southern border.”
He also said it is possible that some of the individuals who were issued noncitizen identification numbers have, since receiving them, become naturalized citizens and are, therefore, eligible to vote. The process initiated by the Secretary of State’s Office will allow those naturalized citizens to update their information on a State of Alabama Voter Registration Form and, once verified, vote in the state’s elections.
Allen has provided the list of registered voters identified as having been issued a noncitizen identification number to the Office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall for further investigation and possible criminal prosecution.
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
