DOJ Sues Alabama for Voter Roll Purge Program Targeting Noncitizens

The department said the purge is being conducted too close to the Nov. 5 election and could disenfranchise eligible voters who recently became citizens.

A polling place in Alabama's primary in Mountain Brook on March 5, 2024. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the state of Alabama, accusing the state of breaking the law with its voter roll purge program that targets individuals who are—or once were—noncitizens.

The DOJ announced the legal action in a Sept. 27 statement, in which the agency contends that Alabama’s program, which targets individuals with noncitizen identification numbers, violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) by removing potentially eligible voters within the federally mandated 90-day “quiet period” before an election.