A federal judge's ruling has ordered Virginia to restore voting rights to 1,600 residents who identified as noncitizens, sparking an immediate appeal from Governor Glenn Youngkin.
In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles, appointed by President Biden, ordered Virginia to reinstate approximately 1,600 voters who had been removed from the rolls after reporting themselves as noncitizens. Judge Giles’ preliminary injunction requires that all voters purged in the last 90 days be restored, asserting that Virginia’s process constituted a “systematic” violation of the National Voter Registration Act’s 90-day “quiet period” before elections.
The decision comes after a Department of Justice lawsuit argued that Virginia’s removal program violated federal law, occurring too close to the November election and potentially removing eligible voters without proper notification. Governor Glenn Youngkin has already filed an appeal of Judge Giles’ decision and is contemplating an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Youngkin has defended the purge as a “common-sense” approach to maintaining voter integrity, citing a 2006 law signed by then-Governor Tim Kaine as precedent. His executive order in August authorized daily voter roll updates, using DMV data to identify and notify noncitizens of pending cancellations unless they could confirm their citizenship within 14 days.
“This may be the first time in history where the government is actually mandating the right to vote for people who are not citizens,” one courthouse observer noted, expressing concerns over the implications of the judge’s ruling.
The DOJ maintains that states can remove ineligible voters but only when adhering to federal timing regulations. Judge Giles noted the importance of balancing public interest with compliance, remarking that while it’s essential to remove ineligible voters, it’s equally critical to safeguard eligible voters' rights.
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