Organizations take legal action against state for voter roll removal

A lawsuit has been filed against Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen by voting rights groups, alleging that a policy targeting naturalized citizens for removal from voting rolls is illegal. Allen recently announced that over 3,000 individuals with noncitizen identification numbers will have their voter registration status made inactive. The lawsuit, filed by the Campaign Legal Center, Fair Elections Center, and Southern Poverty Law Center, claims that the method wrongly targets naturalized citizens who once had noncitizen identification numbers before gaining citizenship.
The lawsuit highlights that the voter purge is intimidating and disenfranchising naturalized citizens, and two U.S. citizens have already been affected by the policy. Alabama Republicans have expressed concerns about noncitizens voting, leading to efforts to review voter rolls and undertake other measures ahead of the upcoming election.
Despite the concerns raised, voting by noncitizens is rare, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice. In a review of 2016 election data, only 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting were identified out of 23.5 million votes.
The lawsuit is seeking to protect the voting rights of naturalized citizens and ensure that all Americans have the freedom to vote. As the November election approaches, the issue of voter purges and targeting of naturalized citizens continues to be a point of contention. Federal prosecutors in Alabama recently announced a plea deal with a woman from Guatemala who obtained a U.S. passport using a false identity and voted in previous elections.

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