Alabama secretary of state moves 3,000+ people to inactive voter rolls over citizenship concerns

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen instructed county Boards of Registrars to remove 3,251 people from active voter rolls and to set their registrations as inactive over their citizenship status.

The individuals facing removal were found to have been issued non-citizen identification numbers by the Department of Homeland Security, Allen indicated in the announcement.

“I have been clear that I will not tolerate the participation of noncitizens in our elections,” Allen said. “I have even gone so far as to testify before a United States Senate Committee regarding the importance of this issue. We have examined the current voter file in an attempt to identify anyone who appears on that list that has been issued a noncitizen identification number.”

The federal government has declined Allen's requests to provide a list of non-citizens who reside in Alabama. Also, because some individuals who received non-citizen identification numbers may have since become naturalized citizens, the Secretary of State’s Office will allow them to update their voter registration information and vote following their verification.

Registered voters identified as having non-citizen identification numbers have also been referred to the Alabama Attorney General's Office for investigation.

“This is not a one-time review of our voter file. We will continue to conduct such reviews to do everything possible to make sure that everyone on our file is an eligible voter,” Allen said. “I am hopeful that in the near future the federal government will change course and be helpful to states as we work to protect our elections.”