The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the State of Alabama, accusing the state of breaking the law with its voter roll purge program that targets individuals who are-or once were-noncitizens.
The DOJ announced the legal action in a Sept. 27 press release, in which the agency contends that Alabama's program, which targets individuals with noncitizen identification numbers, violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 by removing potentially eligible voters within the federally mandated 90-day "Quiet Period" before an election.
The NVRA's Quiet Period provision prohibits states from conducting systematic voter roll purges within 90 days of a federal election to prevent errors and ensure eligible voters are not wrongfully removed.
The legal dispute centers around a program initiated by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen that aimed to remove noncitizens registered to vote in Alabama from the state's voter rolls.
Allen said that due to a lack of cooperation from the federal government in providing up-to-date lists of noncitizens for the purposes of the voter roll purge, Alabama had to rely on older data that does not reflect whether the individuals flagged for removal have since gained citizenship.
The DOJ is seeking an injunction to halt the voter roll purge and reinstate the rights of eligible voters.
Earlier this month, a coalition of civil rights organizations, including the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the League of Women Voters of Alabama, filed a separate lawsuit accusing the state of targeting naturalized citizens with the purge.
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