Federal Judge Orders Reinstatement of Over 1,600 Virginia Voters
A federal judge has mandated the reinstatement of more than 1,600 individuals to the Virginia voter rolls, challenging a state program that had removed them since August following an executive order by Governor Glenn Youngkin. This ruling temporarily restores the voting rights of those affected.
The U.S. Department of Justice had filed a lawsuit against the state and the Youngkin administration, asserting that voters were purged too near to the 90-day “quiet period” before Election Day. Accompanying lawsuits from voter rights and immigrant advocacy groups claimed that the removals affected individuals whose Department of Motor Vehicles paperwork failed to indicate U.S. citizenship, potentially due to citizenship status changes or paperwork errors.
The legal action, initiated by Virginia’s League of Women Voters and the Virginia Coalition For Immigrants Rights, underpinned the recent court decision. Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles has also instructed the state to collaborate with local registrars to notify those impacted within five days.
Governor Youngkin responded to the ruling by stating, “Let’s be clear about what just happened: only eleven days before a Presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals — who self-identified themselves as noncitizens — back onto the voter rolls.”
Virginia’s state law requires the DMV to provide monthly lists of individuals who have not identified as citizens to the state Board of Elections, which then forwards these lists to local registrars. This process originated with former Republican state Sen. Ken Cucinelli and was signed into law by then-Governor Tim Kaine, a Democrat.
Governor Youngkin has defended the process, emphasizing that he is implementing a law enacted by a Democratic governor.
Jorge Figueredo, an executive board member of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, remarked, “Today’s injunction on Executive Order 35 is an essential step to have fair and just elections that will permit naturalized citizens to cast their vote in our federal elections without the unfair burden of being forced to re-register.”
Attorney General Jason Miyares criticized Judge Giles, claiming she was “urged” by the DOJ to reverse the voter removals and denounced the lawsuits as a “shameful, politically motivated stunt.”
This issue extends beyond Virginia, with the DOJ also suing Alabama for similar reasons. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley expressed strong support for Youngkin and Miyares in a statement.
Both Youngkin and Miyares have announced plans to appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and are ready to escalate the case to the United States Supreme Court if necessary.
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