Justice Department sues Alabama saying state is purging voter rolls too close to election

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit Friday against Alabama and its top election official, accusing the state of illegally purging people from voter rolls too close to the November election.

Federal officials said the purge violates the “quiet period provision” of the National Voter Registration Act that prohibits the systemic removal of names from voter rolls 90 days before a federal election.

Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen in August announced an initiative “to remove noncitizens registered to vote in Alabama.” More than 3,000 people who had been previously issued noncitizen identification numbers will have their voter registration status made inactive and flagged for possible removal from the voter rolls. The Justice Department said both native-born and naturalized U.S. citizens, who are eligible to vote, received the letters saying their voting status was being made inactive.

“The right to vote is one of the most sacred rights in our democracy,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. “As Election Day approaches, it is critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance mailings sent in violation of federal law.”

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The lawsuit asks for injunctive relief that would restore the ability of impacted eligible voters to vote on Nov. 5.

“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 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, Fair Elections Center and 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.

The plaintiffs in that lawsuit include two U.S. citizens who received letters telling them they were being moved to inactive voter registration status because of the purge. One is man born in the Netherlands who became a U.S citizen in 2022. The other is a U.S.-born citizen.