Va.’s Illegal Efforts To Purge Voter Rolls Gains Nat’l Spotlight

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

The fight over Virginia’s purging of voter rolls is at the U.S. Supreme Court as of Tuesday morning (October 29).

The case against Virginia was  brought forth by Virginia’s League of Women Voters and the Virginia Coalition For Immigrants Rights, and decided by a federal judge. An immediate appeal by the state to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, held the decision which is now before the High Court.

The federal judge’s decision ordered Virginia to restore more than 1,600 voter registrations that were illegally purged in the last two months in an effort to stop noncitizens from voting. This came after an executive order  issued this summer by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The order means those who registered to vote at the department of Motor Vehicles can be reinstated on voter rolls for the time being. Department of Motor Vehicles paperwork doesn’t indicate if they are U.S. citizens because some of them may have become citizens in the time since renewing or receiving their license, while others may have made a blunder on their paperwork

U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles ruled on Oct. 25 that Youngkin’s purge violated the National Voter Registration Act, a federal law that prevents states from removing ineligible voters from the rolls within 90 days of the election.

In issuing her ruling, Giles rejected the notion that she was restoring the voting rights of noncitizens.

She said the state lacked proof that the purged voters were noncitizens; however the state proceeded to cancel their registrations anyway in violation of federal law.

“I’m not dealing with beliefs,” she told a lawyer for Virginia when he again referred to those stricken from the rolls as noncitizens. “I’m dealing with evidence.”

In June, Trump appeared at a Virginia rally with Youngkin but about a month later announced Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his vice presidential candidate. Trump called Vance with the news 20 minutes before announcing it on social media, a source familiar with the call said, according to NBC-News.

While Youngkin was not chosen as Trump’s running mate, he is still a prime candidate for a cabinet post if Trump is elected, according to some experts who say Youngkin may run for president in 2028. Youngkin’s term expires January 2026,  due to term limitations.