On Wednesday (Oct. 30), CNN revealed a Supreme Court decision allowing Virginia to move forward with a program aimed at removing suspected noncitizens from its voter registration rolls. Republicans held the majority of the 5-4 ruling, with no explanation for the decision provided. Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
The program in question requires election officials to remove the names of those who both self-identified as noncitizens at the DMV and registered to vote. Supporters, including former President Donald Trump, called it a necessity for election integrity. While noncitizens cannot legally vote in federal elections, documented cases are extremely rare. CNN added that a recent Georgia audit found just nine noncitizens voted out of 8.2 million registered voters.
“We are pleased by the Supreme Court’s order today. This is a victory for common sense and election fairness,” wrote Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in an official statement. “I am grateful for the work of Attorney General Jason Miyares on this critical fight to protect the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens. Clean voter rolls are one important part of a comprehensive approach we are taking to ensure the fairness of our elections.”
Youngkin's message continued, “Virginians also know that we have paper ballots, counting machines not connected to the internet, a strong chain of custody process, signature verification, monitored and secured drop boxes, and a 'triple check' vote counting process to tabulate results. Virginians can cast their ballots on Election Day knowing that Virginia’s elections are fair, secure, and free from politically motivated interference.”
The program first began after Youngkin signed an order this past August – three months before Election Day. Since then, 1,600 registrants have been successfully removed from voter rolls. Opponents of the measure subsequently fought back using a 1993 law, the National Voter Registration Act, that bars systematic changes to voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election. Many, including the Biden administration, argued it violated this “quiet period.” In response, the commonwealth stated that the restriction only applied to eligible voters, not noncitizens.
On Friday (Oct. 25), U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles granted an injunction against Virginia election officials by the Justice Department, citing the aforementioned 90-day rule. She also said that the citizenship status of the purged voters couldn’t be known for certain because the information wasn’t verified. On Sunday (Oct. 27), a 4th Circuit Court panel struck down an appeal and upheld Giles’ ruling, effectively ordering Virginia to restore the removed registrants.