On Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed Republican officials in Virginia to revive a plan to remove noncitizen voters from the rolls ahead of next week’s election.
The recent judgement by the justices has blocked the ruling by the federal judges that had ordered to put the program on hold and required the state to restore 1,600 voters to the rolls. The brief order noted that the three liberal justices on the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, all dissented.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who announced the plan in August in a statement, noted that the victory was for common sense and election fairness. The statement further noted that the Virginians can cast their ballots on Election Day knowing that Virginia’s elections are fair, secure, and free from politically-motivated interference.
It has been learnt that Virginia has same-day voter registration, which means that any eligible voter who has been removed from the roll will be able to cast their vote on Election Day or during the early voting period, which ends Saturday.
Some civil rights groups who have backed Trump have challenged the plans, noting that the decision and ruling have led to the removal of some large voters from the roll. Reacting, the Justice Department said that while states can review their voter rolls, they cannot do so right before an election.
Justice Department spokesperson explained that the department had brought out the suit to ensure that every eligible American citizen can vote in our elections; it was further noted that they have disagreed with the ruling of the Supreme Court on the case.
Under the National Voter Registration Act, states are barred from systematically removing people from voter rolls within 90 days of an election.
The state’s plan flagged people for removal if they checked a box on a Department of Motor Vehicles form declaring they were not citizens or left it blank.
The groups who have sued which included the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, noted that the process has drawn in people who may have indicated they were not citizens at that time but have subsequently become U.S. citizens. Civil rights groups and the Biden administration both provided evidence of U.S. citizens who had most likely been removed from the rolls.
Joan Porte, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit noted that the ruling was devastating for the voters i Virginia, the plaintiff noted that the ruling was stripping some elligable voters of their fundamental rights which is to vote on elections day.
She further noted that the Supreme Court should be protecting voters from being disenfranchised, but according to her, the ruling is now encouraging such an act, which is not good for the citizens.
The group mentioned in the court papers that the record makes clear that citizens are being removed from the voter rolls. They further noted that they were voters with the 90 days is “designed to protect.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles ordered the state to stop its program and restore the voter registrations of more than 1,600 people who were removed in recent months. The Virginia plan echoes broader, unproven Republican talking points amplified by former President Donald Trump that voting by noncitizen voters is rampant.
It has also been revealed that the narrative could be used as a basis to challenge election results if Trump loses on Election Day.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican who made his name as an anti-immigration hard-liner, pointed a brief sponsorship of Virginia that was joined by 25 other Republican state attorneys general.
