DOJ sues for non-citizens to vote

Days after Congress approved a short-term spending bill without the SAVE Act, a bill to require proof of citizenship for voting, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Alabama for removing non-citizens from its voter rolls.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this year, aimed to block an estimated 29 million non-citizens currently living in the United States from illegally participating in U.S. elections. Although lawmakers attempted to include the SAVE Act in last week’s government funding bill, which staved off a government shutdown, the measure failed on a 202 to 220 vote on Wednesday. Two days later, the Justice Department targeted Alabama for attempting to prohibit over 3,000 non-citizens from voting.

“After being sworn into office on January 16, 2023, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen immediately initiated strategic efforts to ensure that Alabama has the cleanest and most accurate voter file in the country,” his office reported. “As part of this effort, Secretary Allen has identified 3,251 individuals who are registered to vote in Alabama who have been issued noncitizen identification numbers by the Department of Homeland Security. The Secretary announced today that he is 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 claimed. “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.”

While it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote, the DOJ claimed in a lawsuit on Friday that the Yellowhammer State’s efforts to clean its lists are “too close” to the upcoming election, citing the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which prevents state officials from removing “the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters” within 90 days of an election.

“The right to vote is one of the most sacred rights in our democracy,” claimed Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke. “As Election Day approaches, it is critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance… in violation of federal law.”

“The Justice Department will continue to use all the tools it has available to ensure that the voting rights of every eligible voter are protected,” she continued.

Despite disingenuous claims about seeking to ensure that only eligible voters can vote, the federal government has repeatedly rejected efforts to enforce this crucial election security safeguard. Numerous documented cases of ineligible individuals committing voter fraud in Alabama highlight pressing concerns about the scope of this issue; anyone who purports to value the “right to vote [as] one of the most sacred rights in our democracy” should take these matters seriously.

Once again, however, the federal government has failed to act in the best interest of the American people. A failure to ensure that only citizens can participate in elections amounts to an open attack against “We the People” and an open invitation for outsiders to influence our politics.

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