More Than 1,600 Voters Removed in Virginia Under Noncitizen Program

More than 1,600 people have been removed from voter rolls in Virginia since August under the state’s program targeting noncitizens, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) and advocacy groups, who are suing the state, contend is illegal.
The scope of the removals was revealed after a federal magistrate, on Oct. 21, ordered the state to disclose the names and addresses of those removed to plaintiff groups, including the DOJ and the League of Women Voters.
This prompted the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file a lawsuit earlier this month, alleging the program violates a 90-day “quiet period” ahead of the November election as required by the National Voter Registration Act.
The quiet period exists to prevent the accidental disenfranchisement of legitimate voters in the election season by not providing an opportunity to fix errors before the election.
The DOJ has requested an injunction to block the program and restore the registrations of those removed from the rolls. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Alexandria.
The state has objected to an injunction in court filings, saying it would be an unnecessary intrusion into Virginia election procedures.
The governor said that the process is “individualized” and not systematic, in a media interview.
“It starts with a basic premise that when someone walks into one of our DMV’s and self-identifies as a noncitizen, and then they end up on the voter rolls, either purposely or by accident, that we go through a process individualized, not systematic, an individualized process based on that person’s self-identification as a noncitizen, to give them 14 days to affirm they are a citizen and if they don’t, they come off the voter rolls,” Youngkin told Fox News.
The filing contends that the nature of a person self-reporting as a noncitizen at the DMV is done on an individual basis and therefore does not qualify as systematic.