The Department of Justice (DOJ) 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 (NVRA) by removing potentially eligible voters within the federally mandated 90-day “Quiet Period” before an election.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said that Alabama’s actions risk disenfranchising eligible voters just weeks before a key federal election.
“As Election Day approaches, it is critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance mailings sent in violation of federal law,” Clarke said in a statement. “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 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.
Hellbound and Down 