Federal Authorities End Election Interference Lawsuit Against Alabama Election Officials
In a shift under the Trump administration, the Department of Justice seems to have refocused its attention, expressing appreciation for Alabama's endeavors to uphold voter registration integrity. This change in perspective comes as the Department of Justice chose to drop its lawsuit against Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen over his voter purge initiative.
Inevitably, this voter purge process led to the creation of a list of registered voters who had previously received a non-citizen identification number. This list was then sent to State Attorney General Steve Marshall, also named as a defendant in the DOJ lawsuit. However, it seems that neither Allen nor Marshall had considered the possibility that some individuals on the list might have since obtained U.S. citizenship.
The lawsuit alleged that this process intimidated eligible voters with threats of unjustified criminal prosecution and necessitated them to re-register in order to vote. An official from the Campaign Legal Center, a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, commented, "No American citizen should be denied the right to vote, and all Americans should have the same freedom to vote, regardless of their place of birth."
The official further voiced concerns about Alabama's voter purges, stating, "Our local election officials work tirelessly to ensure that only American citizens can vote. In reality, voter purges like those in Alabama often target naturalized citizens, preventing qualified Americans from exercising their right to vote. Our democracy thrives best when every American can participate without fear, and the Campaign Legal Center will continue to fight for Americans' right to vote."
Contrasting the litigious past, the Department of Justice now praises Alabama's efforts to maintain fraud-free voter rolls. Acting Assistant Attorney General Marc Warner of the department's Civil Rights Division mentioned, "States are obligated to maintain accurate voting rolls and remove ineligible voters. This Administration supports the efforts of states like Alabama that diligently work towards securing elections by ensuring only citizens are casting their ballots."
In a statement, the Department of Justice announced that its decision to drop the lawsuit would allow Alabama the opportunity to "develop a new process to ensure that ineligible voters are removed from its voter rolls." It's worth noting that these changes in priorities by the Department of Justice primarily address white-collar crime enforcement and digital asset misuse, and do not directly impact voter purge lawsuits or non-citizen voter removal, which are governed by distinct legal and administrative frameworks.
- The shift in focus under the Trump administration at the Department of Justice appears to prioritize civil rights, as evidenced by their praise for Alabama's efforts to secure voter registration integrity.
- politics, policy-and-legislation, general-news: The drop of the DOJ lawsuit against Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen over his voter purge initiative, and its subsequent announcement to develop a new process for ineligible voters' removal from voter rolls, highlights the department's recent interest in policy and legislation regarding war-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice, and voter integrity.
- The contested voter purge process in Alabama, initially causing concerns about intimidation of eligible voters and inadvertent disenfranchisement of naturalized citizens, has now earned appreciation from the Department of Justice, as the Administration supports states' efforts to maintain fraud-free voter rolls.
