A federal judge temporarily blocked Alabama’s program to remove noncitizens registered to vote in the state.

Wes Allen, Alabama’s Republican secretary of state, in August announced an initiative “to remove noncitizens registered to vote in Alabama.”

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 Justice Department sued the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State for allegedly purging noncitizens from its voter rolls too close to November’s general election.

“The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State to challenge a systematic State program aimed at removing voters from its election rolls too close to the Nov. 5 general election, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA),” the Justice Department stated in a press release.

“As Election Day approaches, it is critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance mailings sent in violation of federal law. Officials across the country should take heed of the National Voter Registration Act’s clear and unequivocal restrictions on systematic list maintenance efforts that fall within 90 days of an election. The Quiet Period Provision of federal law exists to prevent eligible voters from being removed from the rolls as a result of last-minute, error-prone efforts. The Justice Department will continue to use all the tools it has available to ensure that the voting rights of every eligible voter are protected,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

According to NBC News, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, nominated by President Trump, ruled that the state violated the National Voter Registration Act’s “quiet period” provision.

Manasco ordered Allen to “pause the voter removal program through the election.”

Per NBC News:

“This year, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen (1) blew the deadline when he announced a purge program to begin eighty-four days before the 2024 General Election, (2) later admitted that his purge list included thousands of United States citizens (in addition to far fewer noncitizens, who are ineligible to vote), and (3) in any event, referred everyone on the purge list to the Alabama Attorney General for criminal investigation,” Manasco wrote in the court order.

“As part of this program, they were all reported to Alabama’s chief law enforcement authority for criminal investigation,” said Manasco, adding that “as far as I know nothing has been done to undo that.”

Manasco ordered the state to contact all 3,251 people to let them know they are still eligible to vote, assuming they don’t violate any other laws that would prevent them from being able to.

The case is among several instances of voter purges in Republican-led states ahead of this fall’s presidential election.

The Justice Department also sued the State of Virginia, the Virginia State Board of Elections, and the Virginia Commissioner of Elections for a similar effort of allegedly purging noncitizens from its voter rolls too close to November’s election.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is blocking Alabama’s attempt to prevent 3,000 likely non-citizens from voting. They continue to show us that American families are not their priority. We need President Trump back in the White House so we can deport non-citizens who vote and restore the integrity of our elections,” Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) said.

AL.com reports:

Manasco also ordered Allen, a Republican, to notify Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office about the names erroneously referred to his office for investigation, and to issue a press release about the court’s ruling.

After a hearing at the Hugo Black Federal Courthouse in downtown Birmingham, Manasco on Tuesday night ordered Alabama and Allen to stop his program to flag possible cases of noncitizens registering to vote. The program purged more than 3,000 people from voter rolls and referred them to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office for possible prosecution. Of those, more than 2,074 have since been deemed eligible to vote.

The U.S. Department of Justice along with civil rights groups sued, alleging that Allen and Alabama were violating the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 which halts changes to voting rules beginning 90 days before an election.

After further discussion with lawyers for both sides, Judge Manasco entered her ruling granting a temporary restraining order.

In her order, she noted that in addition to blowing the 90-day deadline, Allen “later admitted that his purge list included thousands of United States citizens (in addition to far fewer noncitizens, who are ineligible to vote).”

 

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