In a recent development‚ a federal judge put a stop to Alabamas attempt to clean up its voter rolls. The program‚ which aimed to remove non-citizens from voting lists was halted on 10/09/24 just weeks before the upcoming election.
Wes Allen‚ Alabamas Secretary of State‚ started this initiative in August (about 3 months before the 11/5/24 general election). The program identified 3‚281 people whose voting status would be deactivated However‚ it turns out that many of these were actually U.S citizens eligible to vote.
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco issued a preliminary injunction‚ ordering Allen to stop the program. She stated that it violated a federal law that prevents large-scale changes to voter registration lists within 90 days of an election. The judge also required the state to:
- Restore voting status of eligible individuals
- Send them information about their right to participate in the election process
The judge (who was nominated by former president Donald Trump) did allow the state to remove non-citizens from voting rolls on an individual basis. Her order only applied to the systematic program.
The court had ʼno difficultyʼ finding irreparable harm to eligible Alabamians targeted by this program
The Justice Department and civil rights groups filed lawsuits against Alabama last month arguing that the program came too close to election day and improperly included eligible voters. Legal experts suggest that Alabama might appeal the decision.
This case highlights the ongoing debate about voter registration and citizenship issues. While non-citizen voting in federal elections is illegal and rare Republicans in the House are pushing for legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. Critics argue this could disenfranchise longtime voters without easy access to necessary documents
The Justice Department recently filed a similar lawsuit against Virginia‚ where the governor directed daily updates to state voter rolls in early August. This shows that the issue isnt limited to Alabama and is part of a broader national discussion on voter eligibility and registration processes