Department of Justice suing Alabama, Secretary of State Wes Allen over voter list purge

ALABAMA (WHNT) — The Department of Justice has announced it is suing the State of Alabama and Secretary of State Wes Allen over a program to remove some voters from voter rolls.

Allen announced in August that he had instructed county boards of registrars across the state to remove 3,251 registered voters from the state’s voter rolls. The secretary said this move only affects residents who had been issued a non-citizen identification number.

The DOJ now says that the order violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) because it comes too close to the Nov. 5 election.

The department said the order violates a section of the NVRA called the ‘Quiet Period Provision,’ which requires states to complete programs aimed at removing names of ineligible voters no later than 90 days before a federal election. The DOJ said Allen’s order came 84 days before the Nov. 5 General Election.

The department said it is seeking injunctive relief to restore the ability of eligible voters to vote unimpeded and prohibit future potential violations of the Quiet Period Provision. The DOJ is also asking for remedial mailing to educate voters on how to restore their rights and training for officials and poll works to address confusion and mistrust among voters.

“The right to vote is one of the most sacred rights in our democracy. As Election Day approaches, it is critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance mailings sent in violation of federal law. Officials across the country should take heed of the National Voter Registration Act’s clear and unequivocal restrictions on systematic list maintenance efforts that fall within 90 days of an election. The Quiet Period Provision of federal law exists to prevent eligible voters from being removed from the rolls as a result of last-minute, error-prone efforts. The Justice Department will continue to use all the tools it has available to ensure that the voting rights of every eligible voter are protected.”

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division

The DOJ says the Quiet Period Provision applies to certain systemic programs carried out by states aimed at striking names from voter lists based on a perceived failure to meet eligibility requirements, including citizenship at the time of registration. The department said the idea is to protect voters because systemic voter removal programs can be error-ridden, confuse voters or remove eligible voters who may not be able to correct the mistake by election day.

“States may remove names from official lists of voters in various ways and for various reasons, but they may not carry-on this kind of systematic removal program so close to a federal election,” the DOJ said in a release on the lawsuit.

The DOJ said its review of the program found that native-born and naturalized citizens had received letters saying their voting records had been made inactive and they were on a path for their registration to be removed.

“The letter directs recipients who are in fact U.S. citizens and eligible to vote to complete and submit an attached State of Alabama Voter Registration Form,” The DOJ said. “In turn, that form instructs that people may not register to vote in the 14 days before an election. This systematic voter removal program, which the State is conducting within 90 days of the upcoming federal election, violates the Quiet Period Provision.”

This is not the first time Allen’s order has come under fire. Last week the Campaign Legal Center, Fair Elections Center and Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit against Alabama’s secretary of state, saying that the order wrongfully targeted naturalized citizens who once had a noncitizen identification number before gaining citizenship.

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