DoJ Dismisses Voter Registration Suit Against Allen
Biden-era suit against the Alabama Secretary of State had blocked removing noncitizens from voter rolls
The Department of Justice (DoJ) filed to dismiss a Biden-era lawsuit against Alabama Secretary of State West Allen on Friday, March 14. A separate but related lawsuit filed by various liberal voting rights groups against Allen also filed for dismissal.
The lawsuits were initially filed to block Allen’s removal of more than 3,200 ineligible voters from the State’s voter rolls prior to the 2024 election. The Biden DoJ alleged that Allen had violated the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) by removing these voters less than 90 days before the election.
Allen had removed 3,251 potential noncitizen voters 84 days prior to the election. However, approximately 2,000 of these were legally registered voters, according to testimony given by the Secretary of State’s Chief of Staff Clay Helms in October, 2024. More than 900 had proved they were legal voters by September. Another 1,000 were reactivated in October, less than a month before the election, when the Secretary of State’s office double checked driver’s license information from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). These voters were sent polling information and registered voter cards.
At least 159 people were “disqualified” in August, allowing them to be removed from the rolls.
In addressing the dismissal, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said,
“States are required to maintain accurate voting rolls and remove ineligible voters. This Administration supports the efforts of states like Alabama that engage in voting security measures that ensure only citizens are voting in our elections. We are dismissing this case from the prior Administration to permit Alabama the time and space to develop a legal, efficient, and effective process to remove noncitizens from their voting roll and secure the vote for their citizens in upcoming elections.”
Secretary Allen responded positively to the dismissal.
“I am incredibly pleased to announce that President Trump’s USDOJ has filed to dismiss this case and that the liberal organizations involved have followed suit,” Allen said. “Dismissal is a true victory for the State of Alabama, the Constitution, and election integrity.”
“Noncitizens are rightfully not allowed to vote under state and federal law. When noncitizens vote illegally, lawful votes are diluted,” Allen explained. “Every Alabama citizen’s vote matters. When those votes are at stake, I will always fight, just as I have done since taking my oath of office. Rest assured, I have never stopped and promise to continue protecting Alabama elections from illegal noncitizen voting, including in advance of the 2026 election cycle.”
The dismissal opens the way for Alabama to “develop a new process to ensure that ineligible voters are removed from its voter rolls, as it is required to do under section 8 of the NVRA,” according to the Justice Department.
