Alexandria, VA — Today, Campaign Legal Center, the Virginia Coalition of Immigrants Rights (VACIR), the League of Women Voters of Virginia (LWVVA) and African Communities Together (ACT) successfully defended naturalized Americans who were unfairly targeted in Virginia’s illegal and last-minute purge program. 

A judge just ruled to temporarily halt the program and put voters back on the rolls. The plaintiffs are represented by Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Protect Democracy Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Advancement Project.

“Every American citizen, regardless of where they were born, has the freedom to vote. Virginia broke the law by conducting a last-minute purge that targeted naturalized citizens. We’re glad the court acted so every Virginian can make their voice heard in this upcoming election,” said Paul Smith, senior vice president of Campaign Legal Center. 

“This is a major victory for our community! Today, naturalized citizens, including the over 85,000 registered African voters in Virginia have had their voices heard,” said Gigi Traore, National Civic Engagement Director at African Communities Together. “The ruling returns access to the ballot box back to voters, allowing them to exercise their fundamental right to vote.”

"Today's court decision affirms that newly naturalized citizens have the same rights as every other voter,” said Joan Porte, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia. “Purging newly naturalized Virginians is an attack on our democracy. We are proud this ruling protects Virginia voters and ensures their voices are protected and heard"

"Last-minute voter purges not only violate the law but also undermine the core principles of our democracy, especially when they are premised on xenophobic lies," said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States. "We are pleased with the court's decision today to protect naturalized Americans and ensure that they are fully represented in the electoral process."

Background:  
The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) bans voter purges (the systematic removal of voters) within 90 days of an election. This period is referred to as a “quiet period.” On the very first day of the quiet period, Virginia Governor Youngkin directed the Department of Elections (ELECT) to identify and purge voters on a systematic and ongoing basis.   

 
There are already strict laws in place that ensure only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. Last minute voter purges that occur within 30 days of election day, when early voting is already underway, inevitably deny qualified Americans their freedom to vote.   
When Congress passed the NVRA in 1993, it ensured that states can’t conduct last-minute illegal voter purges, and Virginia clearly violated that law.  

CLC filed suit earlier this month on behalf of VACIR, LWVVA and ACT alongside Protect Democracy Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Advancement Project to challenge the state’s policy of illegally and systematically removing voters from the rolls only one month before the upcoming election.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against True the Vote, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, for allegedly providing illegal in-kind contributions to the Georgia Republican Party during the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff elections. 

In December 2020, True the Vote announced that it had received a request from the Georgia Republican Party to provide signature verification training, a 24x7 vote hotline, ballot-curing support, and more in connection with the Senate runoff election process. The press release announcing this partnership quoted the Georgia GOP Chairman noting that the party was “grateful” for True the Vote’s help. Days after announcing its partnership with the Georgia GOP, True the Vote challenged the eligibility of more than 360,000 Georgia voters. 

In doing so, True the Vote appears to have violated Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)’s prohibition against intervening or participating in a political campaign by making in-kind contributions to the Georgia Republican Party to influence the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia. 

“The actions of True the Vote during the 2021 Senate runoff in Georgia represented an aggressive disregard for the laws intended to protect the integrity of our elections and keep voters informed about who is spending money to influence their ability to vote.” says Erin Chlopak, senior director for campaign finance at Campaign Legal Center. “True the Vote exacerbated this harm to voters and our election process by abusing its status as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. 501(c)(3) groups like True the Vote are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers for their charitable work — and are thus barred by law from engaging in partisan political activities. The IRS must not delay in investigating.” 

Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations receive subsidies from taxpayers to engage in charitable work aimed at advancing their respective missions. They are not vehicles for wealthy special interests to engage in partisan political activities aimed at influencing our elections. Those who violate these laws risk fines or having their 501(c)(3) status revoked altogether. The IRS must investigate the activities of True the Vote. 

In response to Elon Musk's announcement that he will be giving away $1 million each day to registered voters in key battleground states, Adav Noti — the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center's executive director — issued the following statement:

"Elon Musk’s behavior is just the latest — and most egregious — example of wealthy special interests distorting our political process at the expense of everyday voters. It is extremely problematic that the world’s richest man can throw his money around in an attempt to directly influence the outcome of this election. This is not how our democracy should work. 

It is illegal to buy votes, it is illegal to buy voter registration, and the Department of Justice has the power to enforce these important laws through civil or criminal action."

Birmingham, AL — Today, Campaign Legal Center, Alabama voters and civil rights groups successfully defended naturalized Americans who were unfairly purged from Alabama’s voter rolls. A federal judge halted Alabama’s illegal and last-minute purge program, which put the freedom to vote for thousands of Alabamians in jeopardy, holding that Alabama could not systematically operate their program meant to remove voters from the rolls in the ninety days before the 2024 general election.

CLC, Fair Elections Center, and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of four Alabama voters, the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, the League of Women Voters of Alabama, and the Alabama Conference of the NAACP. After the groups filed a motion for preliminary injunction, the Department of Justice also filed a lawsuit. 

“All Americans have the same freedom to vote, regardless of where they were born. We are proud to stand up for every Alabamian’s right to vote in the November election and are thankful Alabama’s unlawful voter purge is being put to an end,” said CLC’s Vice President Paul Smith. “In practice, targeting and removing Americans from the voter rolls without justification undermines voters’ ability to make their voice heard. CLC will continue to protect Americans from unfair voter purges so every voter has equal access to the ballot box this November.” 

“No U.S. citizen should be afraid to vote, and we are proud to have defended Alabamians ahead of the upcoming election. Today’s court decision helps protect Alabama citizens’ freedom to register and vote without concerns about government interference or intimidation,” said CLC’s Senior Legal Counsel, Kate Huddleston.

“We are pleased with the court's swift action to protect Alabama voters from an unlawful purge and ensure they can fully participate in the upcoming elections," said Kathy Jones, president of the League of Women Voters of Alabama. “This ruling strengthens our democracy by safeguarding access to the ballot for all eligible voters including naturalized citizens who were unfairly targeted and removed from the rolls."

"This is a victory for Alabama voters. It affirms the freedom of voters to participate in the electoral process and the importance of the National Voter Registration Act's 'quiet period' protection for eligible voters," said Jess Unger, senior staff attorney, democracy: voting rights litigation team, Southern Poverty Law Center. "We encourage all Alabama voters to check their registration at AlabamaVotes.gov before the October 21 voter registration deadline and get out to vote on Election Day, November 5."

"States across the country are acting on false narratives and lies and removing eligible voters from their rolls in violation of federal law," said Caren Short, director of Legal and Research for the League of Women Voters. “Unjustly targeting and purging naturalized citizens from the voter rolls is antithetical to our democracy. The League remains committed to ensuring all voters have a voice and can participate fully in our elections."

"This decision underscores the importance of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to protect voters and is a win for voters and for all Alabamians who value a free and fair election," said Michelle Kanter Cohen, Policy Director and Senior Counsel, Fair Elections Center. "The NVRA protects eligible people from just these types of last-minute, inaccurate data-matching programs that threaten citizens' freedom to vote."

“For over 115 years, the NAACP has been fighting for the right to vote. The suppression tactics may look different, but the intent remains the same - silencing Black, and other vulnerable voices,” said Janette McCarthy Wallace, General Counsel, NAACP. “We are proud to advocate on behalf of Alabamians to ensure that the law is followed, and the right to vote protected. Every vote is a voice, and we refuse to be silenced.”

Background:

Just 84 days before voters were set to head to the ballot box to cast their votes in the 2024 election, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen directed Alabama’s Boards of Registrars to immediately inactivate and ultimately remove from the rolls voters who had in the past had a noncitizen identification number issued by the federal government.   

All naturalized citizens at one point had noncitizen identification numbers prior to becoming citizens, so Secretary Allen’s purge clearly included — and by design targeted — qualified U.S. citizens. 

Alabama voters and Alabama organizations that promote voter registration, represented by CLC, Fair Elections Center, and SPLC, filed a lawsuit requesting that the court block the state’s unlawful voter purge program.   

This lawsuit followed the groups’ letter to Secretary Allen demanding that he immediately stop his policy of purging naturalized citizens from the voter rolls ahead of the November 2024 election.   
 

Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Campaign Legal Center, on behalf of Secure Families Initiative, filed a lawsuit challenging S.B. 189, a new Georgia law that will make it more difficult for counties to dismiss unsubstantiated challenges to an American’s voter registration or their eligibility to vote.     
Many states, including Georgia, allow a registered voter to challenge a fellow American’s voter registration or eligibility to vote. In recent years, these laws have been abused by bad actors who bring hundreds of thousands of unproven challenges.

“Brave service members, their families and other Americans abroad should have the same opportunity to vote as any other American. Our democracy works best when every voter can participate, but S.B. 189 and frivolous mass challenges run contrary to that goal,” said CLC’s Senior Vice President Paul Smith. “CLC is fighting to ensure that all Americans, including those overseas and abroad, exercise their fundamental right to vote in this upcoming election.” 

"We are gravely concerned by the disenfranchisement that these disruptive new election rules will disproportionately have on Georgia’s military voters, who rely on mailing paper ballots from wherever our nation’s security sends them,” said Sarah Streyder, Executive Director of Secure Families Initiative. “Georgia contributes the 3rd-most recruits to our nation’s military of any state, 22 percent of whom identify as Black, and every person serving their nation deserves the right to vote and to have that vote certified.”

Background: 
A new Georgia law, S.B. 189, threatens to prevent Americans living and serving overseas from making their voice heard this November. This law puts voters who have temporarily moved or are temporarily without permanent residential addresses -- such as military members deployed overseas -- at risk of being wrongly challenged.   

Military and overseas voters already face more barriers than the average American in exercising their freedom to vote. They have to request an absentee ballot because they can’t vote in-person, they don’t have the benefit of drop boxes, and living abroad could also mean mail times are less reliable.   
Mass challenge laws have long been used in this country to target recently naturalized citizens, voters of color, student voters and voters with disabilities. S.B. 189 is now targeting the brave people who serve our country. 

CLC represents Secure Families Initiative, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of military members and their families, in the lawsuit, which argues that S.B. 189 violates federal law and infringes on military and overseas voters’ fundamental freedom to vote.