Federal judge orders Alabama to halt voter purge program and restore eligible voters

• In a September lawsuit, the Justice Department said Alabama illegally purged voters too close to the November election.

Catch up quick: Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced a purge program to begin 84 days before the start of the general election, the injunction said.

• Allen identified 3,251 noncitizens who were registered to vote.
• States usually have a hard deadline to complete ineligible voter purging no later than 90 days before a federal election under the National Voter Registration Act.

What's next: Within three days, Allen is to issue guidance to county registrars to restore voter registration records to those who should still be eligible, per the injunction.

• These registrants must also be notified that their status has been restored.
• Exceptions include people who submitted a voter removal request or those who cannot vote because of criminal convictions or mental incapacity.

Zoom out: The Virginia Department of Elections was sued earlier this month by two nonprofit organizations that accused the agency of violating federal voting rights law with its purge program.

Go deeper: Alabama illegally purged voters too close to election, Justice Department says