The Supreme Court allowed Virginia on Wednesday to remove individuals identified as noncitizens from the voter rolls.
The justices paused a lower court order preventing officials from removing around 1,600 individuals who the state said “self-identified” as noncitizens.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan would not have granted Virginia’s request, according to the order.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court allows Virginia to remove individuals identified as noncitizens from the voter rolls. pic.twitter.com/OKlMKqdTJl
— Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) October 30, 2024
U.S. District Court Judge Patricia Giles, a Biden appointee, ruled Friday that Virginia must stop its efforts to remove noncitizen voters within 90 days of the election and restore registered voters removed under the program. When an appeals court upheld the decision on Sunday, the state quickly filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court.
“The injunction, which prohibits the application of a law that has been on the books since the Justice Department precleared it in 2006, will also irreparably injure Virginia’s sovereignty, confuse her voters, overload her election machinery and administrators, and likely lead noncitizens to think they are permitted to vote, a criminal offence that will cancel the franchise of eligible voters,” the state argued in the emergency application filed Sunday.
We are pleased by the Supreme Court’s order today. This is a victory for commonsense and election fairness. I am grateful for the work of Attorney General @JasonMiyaresVA on this critical fight to protect the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens. Clean voter rolls are one…
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) October 30, 2024
Republican Virginia Gov. Genn Youngkin wrote on X that the order is “a victory for commonsense and election fairness.”
“Clean voter rolls are one important part of a comprehensive approach we are taking to ensure the fairness of our elections,” he wrote.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) initially sued Virginia on Oct. 12, alleging the state violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by making changes to the voter rolls within 90 days of the election when the “risk of disfranchising eligible voters is greatest.” Youngkin signed an executive order in August requiring election officials to expedite the removal of ineligible noncitizen voters from the voter rolls.
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