Esternita Watkins, a naturalized American citizen, was excited to cast her first vote in the upcoming presidential election. However, she received a letter stating that her voter registration had been deactivated due to having a noncitizen identification number. This was part of a voter purge initiated by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, who flagged over 3,000 registrations for removal.
Many voting rights advocates and attorneys believe that naturalized citizens like Watkins are unfairly targeted in these voter roll purges. They argue that efforts to crack down on noncitizen voting are based on false claims and have little evidence to support them. Allen defended his actions, stating that some naturalized citizens might get caught up in the process but can re-register to vote.
Watkins and her husband found the situation burdensome and felt it amounted to voter suppression. Despite efforts to prove her citizenship, they couldn’t uncover why she was flagged for removal. Local officials attributed it to a traffic violation, which Watkins contested as she doesn’t drive.
A coalition of advocacy groups, including the ACLU and the League of Women Voters, have condemned Allen’s voter purge, citing violations of federal voting laws. They demanded that Alabama stop the process and provide documentation about its development and implementation. Allen has not yet responded to their letter, stating that he won’t bow down to threats from activist groups.
Overall, the situation highlights the challenges faced by naturalized citizens in exercising their voting rights and the controversy surrounding efforts to prevent noncitizen voting. It also underscores the need for transparency and adherence to federal voting laws in voter registration processes.
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