Alabama Reverses Voter purge: Thousands Reinstated Ahead of Elections

Alabama's Secretary of State corrected an error that rendered thousands of voters 'inactive' on voter rolls. A court ruling mandated notifying these individuals that they are eligible to vote in November. The program aimed to purge non-citizens but included many legal voters due to errors.

In a significant reversal, Alabama's Secretary of State has informed thousands of state residents that they remain eligible to vote in the upcoming November elections, despite being incorrectly marked as 'inactive' on the voter rolls.

This correction follows a federal court ruling by U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, which halted a controversial voter purge program initiated by Secretary of State Wes Allen. The program had mistakenly categorized 3,251 registered voters as inactive in an effort supposedly aimed at removing non-citizens.

The ruling revealed serious errors, as testimony indicated that the majority of those targeted were in fact legally registered voters. County registrars have since been directed to notify these individuals of their voting eligibility, assuaging fears of potential criminal prosecution that had been previously suggested.

(With inputs from agencies.)