Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen says he is committed to ensuring non-citizens cannot vote in elections, despite left-wing groups threatening to obstruct the election integrity efforts of his office.
Earlier this month, Allen instructed 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.
Several voting rights groups are attempting to warn 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 in a statement to Yellowhammer News on Tuesday.
“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.”
In the letter to the Allen, the coalition demanded an end to the voter roll purge.
“The issuance of this announcement and these instructions to County Boards of Registrars implements an untimely systematic voter list maintenance program targeting naturalized citizens in violation of federal law, including the NVRA,” the letter says. “We demand that your office and all other implementing state and local entities in Alabama immediately cease this program, and we further demand that Alabama produce documents related to the program pursuant to the NVRA.”
The group also said they will go to court to settle the matter if Allen does comply to their demands.
“The program you announced on August 13, 2024, plainly violates the NVRA,” they said. “Alabama’s untimely systematic voter purge targeting naturalized citizens is directly analogous to that expressly rejected by the Eleventh Circuit. Under 52 U.S.C. § 20510(b), you must remedy your violation of the NVRA within 20 days, or the undersigned may seek declaratory or injunctive relief. You are on notice that your actions violate the NVRA.”
The organizations that signed on to the letter include ACLU Alabama, Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, League of Women Voters Alabama, NAACP Alabama, United Women of Color, Fair Elections Center, and the Legal Defense Fund.
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
