Judge Bans VA From Purging Voters Off Rolls After DOJ Lawsuit

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A judge on Friday barred Virginia election officials from removing voters from its election rolls in an effort to remove non-citizens, claiming federal law prohibits them from doing so 90 days before a presidential election, according to a report.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles rejected arguments from attorneys for Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who issued an executive order on Aug. 17 requiring state officials to make daily updates to voter lists to remove ineligible voters, the Washington Post reported.

As a result, the order caused officials to remove eligible voters from the state's voter rolls because they overlooked a box on their driver's license applications indicating they were not U.S. citizens. It also removed voters who became citizens years after their first interaction with the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Post reported.

The judge's decision came two weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Virginia, claiming the state violated federal law by removing voters too close to Election Day.

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According to the lawsuit, Youngkin's order violated the National Voter Registration Act's "Quiet Period Provision," which requires states to complete programs aimed at removing ineligible voters from voter registration lists no later than 90 days before federal elections.

State officials told the Post about 1,600 voter registrations have been canceled since Youngkin’s executive order went into effect. Justice Department attorneys said voters were still being removed as recently as Monday.

In her ruling, Judge Giles agreed the order violated federal law.

“What I find is a clear violation of the 90-day quiet provision,” Giles said in court, according to the Post. “It is not happenstance that this executive order was announced on the 90th day.”

In a written statement, Youngkin said the state would immediately appeal Friday's decision for an emergency stay of injunction.

"Let’s be clear about what just happened: only 11 days before a presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals — who self-identified themselves as noncitizens — back onto the voter rolls," Youngkin said. "Almost all these individuals had previously presented immigration documents confirming their noncitizen status, a fact recently verified by federal authorities."

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares called the Justice Department's lawsuit a "shameful, politically motivated stunt" and said officials had a duty to remove any "noncitizens, minors and fictitious people" from the voter rolls.

"The Commonwealth of Virginia will appeal this decision — all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary," Miyares said.