Additional Coverage:
- Judge orders Virginia to restore 1,600 voter registrations canceled in effort to purge noncitizens (newsbreak.com)
A federal judge in Virginia has ordered the state to restore over 1,600 voter registrations that were illegally purged in an attempt to prevent noncitizens from voting. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit, claiming that the registrations were canceled during a period when states are restricted from making large-scale changes to voter rolls.
State officials said they will appeal the ruling, arguing that they were carefully targeting noncitizens who had explicitly identified themselves as such to the Department of Motor Vehicles. However, the plaintiffs presented evidence that many of the purged voters were actually citizens whose registrations were canceled due to errors or mistakes.
The judge emphasized that while states can remove noncitizens from voter rolls, it must be done on an individualized basis, not through automated programs. She questioned the timing of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order, which initiated daily checks of DMV data against voter rolls, calling it “not happenstance” that it occurred at the start of the 90-day quiet period before elections.
The plaintiffs had requested an extension of the absentee ballot deadline for the affected voters, but the judge denied the request, citing potential confusion. Republican officials criticized the ruling, while Democrats praised it for preventing voter suppression.