Secretary of state advises Texas counties they may keep vetting list of suspected non-citizen voters

FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2019 file photo, Secretary of State David Whitley, left, arrives for his confirmation hearing in Austin, Texas, where he addressed the backlash surrounding Texas' efforts to find noncitizen voters on voter rolls. A key Texas Democrat says he won't back Whitley, Gov. Greg Abbott's embattled choice for secretary of state, whose job is in peril over an inaccurate list of 95,000 voters flagged as possible non-U.S. citizens. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) less FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2019 file photo, Secretary of State David Whitley, left, arrives for his confirmation hearing in Austin, Texas, where he addressed the backlash surrounding Texas' efforts to find ... more Photo: Eric Gay, STF / Associated Press Photo: Eric Gay, STF / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Secretary of state advises Texas counties they may keep vetting list of suspected non-citizen voters 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Texas Secretary of State David Whitley will tell Texas counties they may continue to look into the citizenship statuses of voters on his list of suspected noncitizens, according to an advisory approved by a federal judge Monday.

The advisory, which will be sent to all 254 counties in the state, notifies election offices that they must abide by the Feb. 27 court order that bars them from alerting people on the list that they're under examination or removing anyone from the rolls without approval from the court and "conclusive" evidence that they're ineligible.

It also clarifies that the counties may still vet voters on the list as long as they do not directly contact them. If, however, a voter reaches out to a county elections administrator first, the advisory says, then the office may communicate with them.

The court order came after voter rights advocacy groups filed federal lawsuits alleging the voter purge program is unconstitutional and suppresses the minority vote. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery denied the state's motion to dismiss the suits, which have been consolidated in his court.

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