A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen’s attempted purge of supposed non-U.S. citizens violates the law.
District Judge Anna Manasco’s decision followed Allen’s announcement that he was removing over 3,200 people from the state’s voter rolls on Aug. 13. Under the National Voter Registration Act, states are prohibited from removing voters from the rolls during a 90-day “quiet period” prior to an election.
This year, that period began on Aug. 7. A group of nonprofits representing Alabama residents and the Department of Justice filed separate lawsuits challenging the purge.
Allen “blew the deadline when he announced a purge program to begin eighty-four days before the 2024 General Election,” Manasco’s decision states.