A federal judge in Alabama has halted the state’s voter removal program, which flagged thousands of residents as potentially having registered to vote illegally. The ruling, issued on Wednesday, sided with the U.S. Department of Justice, which argued that the timing of the voter purge—occurring too close to the general election—could infringe upon citizens’ voting rights.
Under federal law, states are prohibited from removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a national election. Alabama announced its voter purge just 84 days before the upcoming general election, prompting the Justice Department to file a lawsuit against the state last month.
The voter removal initiative is part of broader efforts by Republican-led states to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots in November. Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, announced plans to remove 3,251 voters from the rolls, referring their cases to the state attorney general for criminal prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco ordered Allen’s office to notify the affected voters that they remain eligible to vote, provided they comply with applicable election laws. In her ruling, Manasco highlighted several issues with the purge, stating that Secretary Allen had “blew the deadline” by initiating the program too close to the election, and acknowledged that the purge list had wrongfully included U.S. citizens along with noncitizens.
Similar voter removal efforts have been initiated in other states, including Virginia and Oklahoma, where officials have targeted voters whose legal status has been questioned.
