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On Friday, a group of voting rights organizations filed a lawsuit against the Alabama secretary of state and attorney general, accusing them of implementing a policy that illegally targets naturalized citizens to disenfranchise them ahead of the upcoming November election.
The lawsuit contends that the recent policy, which aims to remove noncitizens from Alabama’s voter registration lists, compromises the essential right to vote. It alleges the policy relies on inaccurate data that discriminates against naturalized citizens, strips eligible voters of their rights, and unjustly refers cases for criminal charges.
“Alabama is using a voter purge to intimidate and remove naturalized citizens,” the lawsuit asserts.
The lawsuit revolves around a policy introduced last month by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, who initiated the process to remove 3,251 individuals from the voter rolls. These individuals had previously been assigned noncitizen identification numbers.
Additionally, Allen’s office sent the list of registered voters to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall for potential criminal prosecution, citing federal law that bans noncitizens from participating in national elections.
“I have been clear that noncitizen participation in our elections will not be tolerated,” Allen said in a statement when announcing the purge.
The lawsuit argues that the voter purge mistakenly included naturalized citizens who had been issued noncitizen identification numbers before obtaining their citizenship.
A photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images shows a voter entering a polling place to cast a ballot in Mountain Brook, Alabama, on March 5, 2024.
When announcing the policy last month, Secretary of State Allen acknowledged that some individuals on the list might have since become citizens, and noted that these voters could re-register before the election.
The plaintiffs claim the policy intentionally targets naturalized citizens for removal and imposes an undue burden on eligible voters to re-register.
Individuals born outside the United States can become naturalized citizens by fulfilling certain requirements, including being a lawful permanent resident for five years or marrying a U.S. citizen, showing proficiency in English, and passing a civics test. Notable naturalized citizens include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ryan Reynolds, and Melania Trump.
Roald Hazelhoff, a naturalized citizen from the Netherlands who moved to the U.S. in 1977, joined the lawsuit after being notified that his voter registration was deactivated. Despite his efforts to correct his registration, Hazelhoff remains uncertain if he will be able to vote in the upcoming election, according to the lawsuit.
“This policy intimidates naturalized citizens and discourages them from voting by implying that registering to vote is a crime and may lead to criminal investigation,” said Kate Huddleston, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, in an interview with ABC News.
The plaintiffs have asked a federal court in Alabama to issue an injunction to halt the policy, arguing that it violates the Constitution, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Voting Rights Act.
When asked by ABC News for a comment on the ongoing litigation, a spokesperson for the Alabama secretary of state declined to respond.
The lawsuit is backed by several advocacy groups, including the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, League of Women Voters of Alabama, and the League of Women Voters of Alabama Education Fund. Additionally, four individual plaintiffs assert that their voting rights are being threatened by the policy. The defendants named in the case include Secretary of State Allen, Attorney General Marshall, and the chairs of the voter registrars’ boards in Elmore, Jefferson, Lee, and Marshall counties.
“We are committed to ensuring every voter can cast their ballot and that every vote is counted, regardless of the obstacles we face,” said Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama NAACP.
This lawsuit arises as Republican lawmakers across the nation push for stricter voting requirements ahead of the November election. Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the removal of over one million ineligible voters from the voter rolls, including 6,500 noncitizens, while Tennessee officials in June requested proof of citizenship from over 14,000 residents to remain on the voter rolls.
Despite ongoing concerns over illegal voting, research indicates that instances of noncitizens voting are exceedingly rare. A 2017 report by the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice found only about 30 incidents of noncitizen voting among 23.5 million votes studied—a rate of 0.0001%.
“Secretary Allen implemented the Purge Program as part of a nationwide, bad-faith effort falsely claiming widespread noncitizen voting in U.S. elections,” the lawsuit states. “Evidence overwhelmingly shows that noncitizen voting is extremely rare and that purges targeting alleged noncitizens mainly prevent eligible naturalized citizens from voting.”