Alabama Secretary of State Partners with DHS to Verify Voter Citizenship
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Wes Allen, Alabama Secretary of State and a candidate for lieutenant governor, has announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aimed at verifying voters’ citizenship. The agreement grants Alabama access to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, designed to identify undocumented immigrants registered to vote.
“I have been very clear that only United States citizens should be voting in our elections, which is what our constitution and state and federal law demand,” Allen stated, emphasizing his commitment to election integrity.
The Secretary plans to implement the SAVE program to check the citizenship status of both existing registered voters and new voter registrations. This initiative is part of broader efforts to bolster election security in Alabama, following the state’s recent withdrawal from the national Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a tool previously used for tracking voter address changes. Instead, Allen has introduced a proprietary system, the Alabama Voter Integrity Database (AVID).
Additionally, Allen has supported legislation to crack down on ballot harvesting, which made it a Class C felony to receive payment for assisting with absentee ballot applications. This move has led to some organizations reconsidering their voter outreach efforts due to fears of prosecution.
The SAVE program will allow Allen’s office to cross-check voter roll information against immigration databases managed by DHS. Personal information obtained through this program is protected under the Privacy Act of 1974, ensuring that such data is used solely for determining voting eligibility and not for other purposes.
As Alabama moves forward with these initiatives, the focus remains on ensuring that only eligible voters participate in elections, while also navigating the complexities of election laws and voter outreach.
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