A coalition of voting rights groups on Friday sued the Alabama secretary of state and attorney general over a policy they say illegally targets naturalized citizens to keep them from voting in the upcoming November election .
The lawsuit alleges that a recent policy intended to remove noncitizens from Alabama’s voter rolls “undermines the fundamental right to vote” by relying on faulty information that discriminates against naturalized citizens, disenfranchises eligible voters, and wrongly refers cases for criminal prosecution.
“Alabama is targeting its growing immigrant population through a voter purge intended to intimidate and disenfranchise naturalized citizens,” the lawsuit said.
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The lawsuit centers on a policy initiated last month by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, whose office began the process of removing 3,251 people from the state’s voter rolls because they had previously been issued noncitizen identification numbers.