WASHINGTON (AP) — The state of Virginia has turned to the U.S. Supreme Court for assistance in removing approximately 1,600 individuals from its voter lists, claiming these individuals are not citizens.
This appeal follows a decision by a federal appeals court, which unanimously supported a federal judge’s order to reinstate these voters. The judge determined that the purge, enacted through an executive order by the Republican governor of Virginia, was conducted unlawfully.
Governor Glenn Youngkin initiated a directive for daily voter roll reviews to prevent noncitizens from participating in elections. However, U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles found the program violated federal law due to its execution during a 90-day “quiet period” leading up to the November elections.
Earlier in the month, the Justice Department and various private organizations filed a lawsuit to stop Youngkin’s voter removal process, arguing that the quiet period is essential to avoid incorrect voter removals due to administrative mistakes.
Youngkin defended his actions as compliance with Virginia state law, which mandates the cancellation of voter registrations for noncitizens.
The recent decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond favored the initial ruling to restore voter registrations. The court criticized Virginia’s claim that it was obliged to add 1,600 noncitizens back to the voter list, highlighting a lack of evidence supporting their noncitizen status.
The executive order issued by Youngkin in August involved daily cross-referencing of data from the Department of Motor Vehicles with voter records to identify noncitizens.
State authorities stated that individuals identified as noncitizens received notifications and had two weeks to contest their removal. If they submitted a form affirming their citizenship, their voter registration remained intact.
Opponents of the program argued that legitimate voters risked losing their registration due to simple errors, such as incorrectly marked DMV forms. Evidence in court showed that some of those removed were, in fact, citizens.
Similarly, in Alabama, a federal judge recently mandated the state to restore over 3,200 voters’ eligibility after they were incorrectly classified as noncitizens. State officials testified that about 2,000 of those were legitimate citizens.
Virginia’s Republican Attorney General, Jason Miyares, has requested Supreme Court intervention by Tuesday. In the absence of such intervention, the ruling by Judge Giles obliges Virginia to inform affected voters and local registrars of the necessary restorations by Wednesday.
Miyares’ appeal argues that restoring the voter registrations of individuals identified as noncitizens breaches Virginia law and logical reasoning.
Virginia also warns that implementing these changes so close to the presidential election could cause confusion and overwhelm registrars at a critical time, potentially misleading noncitizens into thinking they are eligible to vote.
The 4th Circuit’s opinion, authored by Toby Heytens, a Biden appointee, and joined by Chief Judge Albert Diaz and Judge Stephanie Thacker, both Obama appointees, reiterated that while Virginia can remove noncitizens from voter rolls, such actions must be individualized and not rely on blanket DMV data transfers.
Currently, nearly 6 million Virginians are registered voters.
