Federal judge stops Alabama from removing certain residents from voter rolls

A federal judge in Alabama on Wednesday blocked the state's voter removal program, which had flagged thousands of residents as possibly registering to vote in the state illegally.

The judge agreed with the Justice Department that the process was occurring too close to the general election, and could infringe on a citizen's right to vote. Federal law also restricts states from removing voters from voting rolls within 90 days of a national election, and Alabama announced its purge 84 days before the election. The Justice Department sued the state over the matter last month.

The program is part of Republican-led states' efforts to prevent noncitizens from illegally voting in November.

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, announced that 3,251 registered voters would be removed from the rolls and were referred to the state attorney general’s office for criminal prosecution. But a judge has already determined that some of them were wrongly accused, NBC News reported.

U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco ordered Allen's office to notify the affected voters that they were still allowed to participate in the electoral process as long as they don't violate any laws that prevent it.

“This year, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen (1) blew the deadline when he announced a purge program to begin eighty-four days before the 2024 General Election, (2) later admitted that his purge list included thousands of United States citizens (in addition to far fewer noncitizens, who are ineligible to vote), and (3) in any event, referred everyone on the purge list to the Alabama Attorney General for criminal investigation,” Manasco wrote in the court order.

Other states have launched similar methods to remove voters whose legal status in the state were questionable, including Virginia, and Oklahoma.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.