The Department of Justice has decided to pick a fight with Alabama over something that should make every red-blooded conservative breathe a sigh of relief: the cleaning of voter rolls. The DOJ is suing Alabama, claiming that the state’s top election official, Wes Allen, did it all wrong by trying to eliminate noncitizens from the rolls just days before an election. Apparently, this is a violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which has become a weapon for Democrats who want to ensure that their pet noncitizens continue to cast votes – even if it’s illegal.
Wes Allen, the Alabama Secretary of State, bravely stepped up to remove over 3,000 individuals from the voter rolls who were flagged as noncitizens by the Department of Homeland Security. In what can only be framed as public service, he directed local election boards to inactivate these individuals, some of whom might have recently become naturalized citizens but were still sporting noncitizen ID numbers. Allen made it abundantly clear that he would not turn a blind eye to noncitizen participation in elections. But the DOJ, in its infinite wisdom, saw this move as too close to the November 5 general election, claiming it disrupts the “sacred” right to vote.
This is a complete falsehood. DOJ sued Alabama because its Secretary of State purged MULTIPLE US CITIZENS from the voter rolls less than 90 days before the election, in direct violation of a law which clearly bans any voter purges less than 90 days before an election. https://t.co/h4x41UWy85 pic.twitter.com/I3CdfFu0My
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) September 29, 2024
The DOJ is relying on something called the Quiet Period Provision, which states that states cannot perform systematic voter roll clean-ups within 90 days of federal elections. It’s almost like they want ineligible voters to stick around just because a deadline is looming. It’s noteworthy that rules created to eliminate confusion are now being used to argue that cleaning up election rolls is a bad idea. After all, who would want a clean and fair election when they can have a chaotic one filled with a few more bodies in the voting booth?
It gets even juicier when you consider that the DOJ claims there’s a potential for voter confusion from the letters sent to individuals flagged for inactivation. It’s as if they’re saying that letting people know they’re no longer eligible is somehow unfair. The letters sent out informed everyone of the need to confirm their eligibility before the election, but the federal government would like us to believe that this is a nefarious plot to keep folks from voting. In reality, this sounds like a classic case of “you can’t please all the voters all the time.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, a name that has quickly become synonymous with overreach, chimes in by declaring that the right to vote is “one of the most sacred rights in our democracy.” One wonders if that same sentiment extends to ensuring that only eligible voters participate in the process. Nonetheless, it seems that the DOJ’s version of protecting voting rights includes allowing noncitizens to slip through the cracks. By trying to uphold election integrity, Alabama gets painted as the villain in this scenario, a classic example of the left’s double standards.
Ultimately, this entire debacle highlights just how far the DOJ will go to defend a system that many conservatives see as broken. By prioritizing procedures that appear to coddle ineligible voters and intervene with states aiming for accuracy, the DOJ sends a clear message: keeping elections free from fraud is a crime in itself. The fight is about more than just compliance with the law; it’s about ensuring that the rights of hardworking, eligible voters are not only protected but honored. And if that means cleaning up the voter rolls when necessary—even if it’s a little too close to an election—then so be it. Alabama should be applauded for its efforts rather than punished for them.