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The Justice Division sued the state of Alabama and its high elections official, arguing that they eliminated voters who had beforehand been issued non-citizen identification numbers from the election rolls too near Election Day.
Non-citizen identification numbers are a tax processing quantity issued by the Inner Income Service (IRS) to make sure that folks – together with undocumented immigrants – pay taxes. Along with paying taxes, noncitizen identification numbers can present authorized immigrants with a driver’s license and proof of residency.
After being sworn in in January, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen set to work figuring out and eradicating 3,251 people registered to vote in Alabama who had been issued non-citizen identification numbers by the Division of Homeland Safety .
“I’ve made it clear that I can’t tolerate the participation of non-citizens in our elections,” Allen beforehand stated in an version. “I’ve even gone as far as to testify earlier than a U.S. Senate committee on the significance of this challenge. We’ve examined the present voter base in an try to determine anybody on that checklist who has been assigned a non-citizen identification quantity. ”
ALABAMA ELECTION OFFICIALS SAY BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDER GIVES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ‘MECHANISM’ TO REGISTER TO VOTE
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen testifies throughout a listening to earlier than the Senate Committee on Guidelines and Administration within the Russell Senate Workplace Constructing on Capitol Hill on March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Photos)
Now the DOJ is pushing again and has filed a lawsuit in opposition to Alabama and Allen.
The company argued that Allen violated the Nationwide Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), which requires states to finish any modifications to voter registration rolls no later than 90 days earlier than federal elections.
Allen applied the modifications 84 days earlier, the DOJ alleged.
Indicators mentioning voters are seen outdoors a polling place in Mountain Brook, Alabama on March 5, 2024. (Elia Nouvelage/Getty Photos)
“The appropriate to vote is likely one of the most sacred rights in our democracy,” Assistant Lawyer Normal Kristen Clarke of the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division stated in a press release. “As Election Day approaches, it’s crucial that Alabama eliminates voter confusion ensuing from checklist upkeep mailers despatched in violation of federal regulation.
ALABAMA STATE SECRETARY ALLEN ANNOUNCES WITHDRAWAL FROM VOTER REGISTRATION GROUP
The DOJ additionally alleged that Allen’s removing of voter registration additionally affected pure residents who have been wrongly recognized as potential non-citizens.
The Justice Division seals are seen throughout a information convention on the DOJ workplace in Washington, Might 16, 2023. (AP Photograph/Jose Luis Magana)
The Justice Division is looking for a preliminary injunction that may “restore the flexibility of affected voters to vote unhindered on Election Day,” the division stated in a press release.
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“The division can also be pursuing remedial mailings to teach eligible voters on the restoration of their rights and enough coaching of native officers and ballot employees to deal with confusion and mistrust amongst eligible voters accused of not being residents ,” the company stated.
Fox Information Digital has reached out to Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen for remark.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking information author for Fox Information Digital and Fox Enterprise.
Story ideas and concepts will be despatched to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and at @s_rumpfwitten.
