To be more precise, the allegations against Virginia are that its recent voter purge project is simply an effort to remove non-citizens from the voter registry. And just so you know, the measure was originally proposed by Governor Glenn Youngkin and would have targeted individuals who were suspected not to be U.S. citizens. But, unthinkably enough, it was met with a swift backlash from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and various voting rights groups, which raised concerns over its legality and the possibility that it would disenfranchise legitimate voters, particularly naturalized citizens.
This is a really important topic because it deals with the very essence of what voting rights are and who can vote in American elections, so, let’s just go over this Virginia Voter Purge Lawsuit, and see what is really going on.
Background of Virginia’s Voter Purge Program
Well, because of an order from Virginia’s Governor, Youngkin in August 2024, this is a program that was practically aimed at the November election. The basic instruction was to start the campaign against thus-far-identified noncitizens in the voter list by the Virginia Department of Elections, which was to use the already existing Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) data to identify people, you know? Just so you know though, it is a fact that sometimes the files of DMV do not reflect a person’s current citizenship status.
Those people who were noncitizens at the time of DMV registration are no longer excluded from voting as they are naturalized citizens. To allow for the possibility of human error, such individuals were given the chance to prove their citizenship within two weeks, otherwise, they would lose their voting rights, simple as that.
Legal and Advocacy Challenges
When the program was finally brought to life, the problem of its fairness was raised. And why’s that though? Well, the DOJ and other organizations such as the League of Women Voters and Protect Democracy have filed lawsuits stating that Virginia’s removal of the potential voters might contravene the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). For those who don’t know yet, basically, the NVRA is a law that is in place to avoid intentional removals just before the voting starts and to stop huge changes in voter lists within 90 days of federal elections.
Also, advocates have stated that this program may treat some of the naturalized citizens unjustifiably, which could in turn affect the U.S.-born citizens by mistake. In one case, for instance, a citizen for his entire life was said to be taken off the voting list because of a minor error. These organizations point out that Virginia’s purge places too much reliance on the DMV data, which may be out of date or straight-up incorrect.
Federal Court Ruling on the Program
With this, the federal judge Patricia Tolliver Giles gave the program a breather as she halted it temporarily, you know? At first though, the program was supposed to be responsible for canceling the registrations of 1,600 Virginians, but Judge Giles reinstated all of them to the list of voting rights holders. And then, she hurriedly ordered the way to tell these troubled citizens of Virginia their new status within five days. Like, she pointed out that the program didn’t have any checks to verify the citizenship of people before removal, which was one of the main reasons for her decision. As a result, later on in the case, the judge rejected the point of the state of Virginia that non-responders should be considered noncitizens and at the same time, the Judge also gave a stop sign to the state’s attorney general to conduct any investigation of the citizens flagged.
