A federal judge blocked Alabama Republicans' efforts to remove thousands of voter profiles they alleged were illegally registered, which activists say several GOP-led states are doing to silence naturalized citizens and voters of color.
Alabama's Secretary of State Wes Allen has led "strategic efforts" to "remove noncitizens registered to vote" from the state's voter registration lists, NPR reported. The Campaign Legal Center represented the Justice Department and civil rights groups in challenging these efforts.
US District Judge Anna Manasco, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, ruled the office's actions violated the National Voter Registration Act, which bans states from removing voters names from the official list of eligible voters within 90 days of a federal election, otherwise known as the "quiet period."
"I will comply with the order of the federal court," Allen said in a statement obtained by NPR.
The groups who challenged the purge called it a victory for voting rights.
"This action sends a clear message that the Justice Department will work to ensure that the rights of eligible voters are protected," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
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