A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen to pause his purge of thousands of naturalized citizens from the state's active voter rolls.

A federal judge is halting an Alabama program that made thousands of legal voters inactive ahead of the November elections.

A federal judge blocked Alabama election officials from carrying out a last-minute purge of names from lists of registered voters, finding the state “blew” a 90-day nationwide deadline to maintain the status quo ahead of the November election.

District Judge Anna Manasco sided with the Justice Department and civil rights groups that said the effort came too close to election day and included eligible voters

If you have changed your address or your name, you have until Monday, Oct. 21 to fill out a new Alabama Voter Registration form. At the Registrar’s office inside the Jefferson County Courthouse on Friday,

Alabama. To see guides for other states, click here. Do I need to register to vote? Yes, you need to register to vote in Alabama. You can check your registration status on the Secretary of State’s website.

Upon its founding in 1819, Alabama was given three electoral votes, which it gave to President James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States in 1820. The number of votes was increased to five in the general elections of 1824 to 1840, then again in 1844 until 1860, when the state seceded from the Union.

The judge wrote that Allen’s office “blew the deadline when he announced a purge program” just 84 days before the 2024 presidential election.

Former President Donald Trump Wednesday claimed credit for protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF) services in Alabama, saying the state Legislature moved to act quickly once he intervened. However, Republican and Democratic legislators in the state were already moving to address a February Alabama Supreme Court ruling before the Republican presidential nominee weighed in.

A judge temporarily blocked Alabama’s voter removal program after finding the state violated federal law by systematically purging voters too close to this fall’s election.

Judge Anna M. Manasco, a Trump appointee, said that Alabama must stop moving voters from active to “inactive” status, as the presidential election is just three weeks away.