The Justice Department is suing Virginia over the state’s efforts to purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, claiming it violates federal voting laws. This lawsuit comes after Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order requiring daily updates to the voting list, with identified noncitizens being compared to the registered voter list. However, some individuals identified as noncitizens were found to be U.S. citizens, leading to voter registrations being canceled unnecessarily. The DOJ argues that these actions have likely led to confusion and the removal of eligible voters, which goes against federal laws.
Governor Youngkin has called the lawsuit politically motivated and an attempt to attack the election’s legitimacy. Former President Donald Trump has also weighed in, supporting Youngkin and accusing the Justice Department and Vice President Kamala Harris of seeking to undermine democracy. This lawsuit is the second of its kind in the past month, with Alabama being sued for similar violations of the National Voter Registration Act.
The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights has also filed a lawsuit against Youngkin, alleging that the voter purge process is illegal, discriminatory, and error-ridden. They argue that the process has disenfranchised many eligible voters on the eve of an election. The DOJ lawsuit has been praised by the organization, as they believe it challenges Virginia’s unlawful citizenship purge program. The outcome of this legal battle could have implications for the upcoming elections in Virginia, which has voted Democratic in recent presidential elections.
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