Trump-Appointed Judge Orders Alabama To Stop Effort To Remove Non-Citizens From Voter Rolls

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Alabama officials to stop a program meant to remove non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls, dealing a blow to local efforts to prevent non-citizen participation in elections.

Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State must cease efforts to remove non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls between now and the Nov. 5 election and must also give guidance to counties in the state to quickly restore many of the voters who have already been taken off, according to an order issued by U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco of the Northern District of Alabama. Manasco had been appointed to the court by former President Donald Trump in May 2020.

“This action sends a clear message that the Justice Department will work to ensure that the rights of eligible voters are protected,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated in a press release. “The Justice Department remains steadfast in our resolve to protect voters from unlawful removal from the registration rolls and to ensure that states comply with the mandate of federal law.”

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, announced in August that his office had identified 3,251 individuals who were registered to vote in the state but had also been issued non-citizen identification numbers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Allen at that time instructed county officials to immediately take the necessary steps to remove all non-citizens from voter rolls. (Read more from “Trump-Appointed Judge Orders Alabama To Stop Effort To Remove Non-Citizens From Voter Rolls” HERE)

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