CNN —
The Justice Department on Friday took issue with Alabama’s recent effort to remove more than 3,000 names from its voter rolls, arguing that the move violates federal law that prohibits such actions too close to an election. and sued the state of Alabama.
Alabama Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen announced on August 13 that the state has begun the process of removing 3,251 people previously identified as noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls. However, he acknowledged that some of these people may have subsequently become naturalized citizens but still be eligible to vote.
But in an 18-page lawsuit filed in federal court in Alabama, the Justice Department argues that the so-called voter roll purge is a national law governing when and how most states can implement large-scale election changes. It alleged that it violated voter registration laws. List of registered voters. Federal law requires states to observe a 90-day quiet period during which authorities cannot “systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from official lists of voters.”
“More than 700 individuals affected by this program have since been re-registered and returned to active status on state voter registration records, while potentially hundreds or even thousands more are registered.” Eligible voters on the list, meaning U.S. citizens, could be harmed and lose their rights just weeks before the next federal election. You risk being deprived,” Justice Department lawyers said in the lawsuit.
“The state’s illegal actions here confused and deterred Americans who were fully eligible to vote, the very scenario Congress sought to prevent when it enacted the quiet period clause,” the complaint states. He added that actions like Alabama’s are “even more wrong.” This is more likely to happen than with other forms of list management. ”
As CNN previously reported, exhaustive research by both liberal and conservative think tanks has found only a small number of instances in which non-citizens voted in elections in which they were not eligible. Nonpartisan election law experts say the problem is almost always caught when it occurs and is not a widespread problem plaguing U.S. elections.
The new lawsuit expands a legal battle against Alabama’s measure, which was challenged earlier this month by voters in the state, including those affected by the purge. The judge overseeing the two cases said Saturday that he had consolidated the cases “given the clearly sensitive nature of these cases and the need for judicial efficiency.”
Among other things, the Justice Department is asking the court to reverse the state’s actions against all voters affected by the purge, allowing them to “vote unimpeded on Election Day.”
“As Election Day approaches, it is important that Alabama corrects voter confusion caused by directory mailers sent in violation of federal law,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will continue to utilize every tool available to us to ensure that every voter’s right to vote is protected.”
Allen declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said in a statement that he has a “duty” to prevent noncitizens from voting in U.S. elections.
“I was elected Secretary of State by the people of Alabama, and it is my constitutional duty to ensure that only American citizens vote in elections,” Allen said. “For questions regarding the Department of Justice’s litigation, the Department of Justice does not comment on pending litigation in which the Secretary of State is a named defendant.”
CNN’s Marshall Cohen and Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.
