Voters at Alabama A&M University pass a voting sign after voting at Elmore Gym during Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Huntsville, Alabama. A federal judge has stayed a lawsuit over an Alabama voter purge last year at the request of plaintiffs challenging the removals and attorneys for the state. (Eric Schultz for Alabama Reflector)
A federal judge has paused a lawsuit over the Alabama’s voter purge program at the request of plaintiffs challenging the action and attorneys for the state.
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco issued a Dec. 27 order to stay the case, which stems from Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen’s efforts to remove alleged noncitizens from the voter rolls ahead of the 2024 general election, which affected 3,251 voters.
“Despite their disagreement over the reason that a stay of proceedings is appropriate, both private plaintiffs and the state defendants agree as to the outcome,” both parties stated in the request for a stay.
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The plaintiffs, including the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the League of Women Voters of Alabama, claim that the program disproportionately targeted naturalized citizens and violated federal election law deadlines.
Parties had different reasons for seeking the pause. State officials said in the filing that a “different, as yet undesigned, process in 2025” could render some claims potentially moot, with the yet-to-be-redesigned process addressing data accuracy and issues raised in the lawsuit.
Federal judge blocks Alabama Secretary of State’s voter removal plan
Plaintiffs said they hope to negotiate a settlement while maintaining their objections to certain procedural delays. Due to these potential changes, “private plaintiffs believe that a stay of proceedings in light of potential partial or full settlement resolution is the best path forward.”
In a statement released in August, the Secretary of State’s office said more than 3,000 residents registered to vote in the state had been issued “noncitizen identification numbers” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The office also said it instructed the boards of registrars in the state to inactivate those on the list and to “initiate steps necessary to remove all individuals who are not United States Citizens.” He said in the press release that he would “not tolerate the participation of noncitizens in our elections.”
Manasco blocked the purge in October, citing Alabama’s failure to comply with a federal law prohibiting major voter roll changes within 90 days of a federal election. The decision followed a hearing where Manasco suggested the state’s errors, which may have included naturalized U.S. citizens on its purge list, could impact the case’s outcome.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a similar but more limited lawsuit against the action and Monasco suggested during the hearings that she felt the Department of Justice was likely to succeed on its claims.
The court has requested a status update from both parties by mid-March.
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