Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen has taken action to remove all noncitizens from the state’s registered voter rolls.

Allen said previous investigations identified 3,251 people registered to vote in Alabama who were issued a non-citizen identification number by the Department of Homeland Security. The secretary announced that he was directing registrars in all 67 counties to immediately deactivate all non-U.S. citizens and take the necessary steps to remove them.

“I have made it clear that I will not tolerate non-citizen participation in our elections,” Allen said. “I even went so far as to testify before a U.S. Senate committee about the importance of this issue. We have examined the current voter record to identify every voter appearing on that list who has been issued a non-citizen identification number.”

Repeated requests to the federal government to assist Allen’s efforts by providing a list of noncitizens currently living in Alabama were denied. This lack of cooperation prompted Allen to approach the problem in a different way.

Allen said it’s possible that some of the people who received a noncitizen identification number have since become naturalized and are therefore eligible to vote. The process initiated by the Secretary of State’s office allows these naturalized citizens to update their information on an Alabama state voter registration form and, once verified, vote in the state’s elections.

Allen has also turned over the list of registered voters who have been assigned a non-citizen identification number to the office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall for further investigation and possible criminal prosecution.

“This is not a one-time review of our voter file. We will continue to conduct such reviews to ensure that every voter registered in our file is eligible to vote,” Allen said. “I am confident that the federal government will change course in the near future and assist states in securing our elections.”

Wes Allen is Alabama’s 54th Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is Alabama’s chief election official. In addition, the Secretary of State has more than 1,000 different duties under Alabama law. For more information about the Secretary of State and his responsibilities and duties, visit www.sos.alabama.gov.