Alabama Secretary of State Wes 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.”

“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.

Per Alabama Secretary of State:

Repeated requests to the United States Federal Government to assist Allen’s efforts by providing a list of noncitizens currently residing in Alabama have been declined. This lack of cooperation led Allen to approach the issue in a different way.

Allen says 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 also 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.

“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,” Allen 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.”

WATCH:

WKRG reports:

Statistics provided by the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office claimed that there are 3,251 non-citizens in the State of Alabama who have somehow registered to vote.

Secretary of State Wes Allen’s findings showed that the WKRG News 5 viewing area accounts for 17% of those non-citizens:

  • Mobile County – 143
  • Baldwin County – 143
  • Escambia County – 17
  • Monroe County – 9
  • Conecuh County – 8
  • Clarke County – 8
  • Washington County – 1

Allen said that while non-citizens are in the United States legally, they are not classified as citizens, and therefore are not allowed to vote. Registering to vote as a non-citizen is illegal, according to Allen.

Allen could not offer an explanation on how the non-citizens managed to register to vote.

“Well, we’re still digging into the information that we have,” Allen said. “Number one, how did it happen and how long have they been registered to vote? Number two, did they vote as well?”

Allen said the legal non-citizens were given a “non-citizen identification” or “alien identification” from the Department of Homeland Security.

WATCH:

 

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