Alabama’ s Secretary of State is calling upon boards of registrars to remove noncitizens from voting rolls in the state.
Wes Allen was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th Secretary of State during January 2023. Since then, his office says he's worked to ensure the Yellowhammer State has the cleanest and most accurate voter file in the country.
The Secretary of State is now announcing he has identified 3,251 individuals who are registered to vote in Alabama who have been issued noncitizen identification numbers by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It is illegal for that classification of residents to register to vote in the Yellowhammer State. A federal law enacted in 1996 makes it a crime for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
Allen is now instructing the Boards of Registrars in all 67 counties to immediately inactivate and initiate steps necessary to remove all individuals who are not United States Citizens.
“I have been clear that I will not tolerate the participation of noncitizens in our elections,” Allen said in a press release. “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.”
Allen’s requests to the U.S. government to assist in his efforts by providing a list of noncitizens currently residing in Alabama have been declined. Because of this, the Secretary of State is providing the Alabama Attorney General’s Office a list of registered voters who have been issued a noncitizen identification number, which could result in further investigation and possible criminal prosecution.
“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 in a press release. “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.”
Allen said it's possible some of the individuals who were issued noncitizen identification numbers have, since receiving them, become naturalized citizens and are, therefore, eligible to vote.
The process initiated by the Secretary of State’s Office will allow those naturalized citizens to update their information on a State of Alabama Voter Registration Form and, once verified, vote in the state’s elections.
