A significant legal victory emerged in Virginia as a federal judge ruled against Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s attempt to remove approximately 1,600 voters from the state’s rolls. This decision comes amid allegations that Youngkin’s office acted unlawfully by claiming these individuals were not American citizens.
On October 25, 2024, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles granted an injunction to restore the removed voters, following a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department on October 11. The lawsuit contended that the removals violated the National Voter Registration Act, particularly its stipulation regarding a 90-day “Quiet Period” before elections. This law aims to prevent systematic changes to voter rolls close to an election, ensuring that any conflicts can be addressed in a timely manner.
The Justice Department’s case was bolstered by a coalition of organizations, including the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights and the League of Women Voters of Virginia. These plaintiffs argued that the governor’s actions led to the wrongful removal of eligible voters, often due to simple mistakes on official forms. In many cases, the plaintiffs claimed that agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles inaccurately classified individuals as noncitizens.
While Judge Giles’ ruling mandated the reinstatement of the 1,600 voters, she did not address the potential discrimination aspect of Youngkin’s purge. Her decision emphasized that any efforts to remove noncitizens from voter rolls must be conducted on a case-by-case basis rather than through a sweeping, indiscriminate approach.
Virginia officials are required to notify the affected voters within five days, ensuring they can register to vote ahead of the upcoming November 5 election.
In response to the ruling, Governor Youngkin expressed his intent to appeal, stating he would pursue the matter all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Former President Donald Trump also reacted to the ruling on his social media platform, inaccurately claiming that the judge deemed noncitizens eligible to vote, despite this not being the case.
Legal advocates celebrated the ruling as a triumph for voter rights. Simone Leeper, counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, remarked, “By enforcing the federal law in place to protect voters from last-minute purges, the district court has affirmed what we know to be true: every American citizen, regardless of where they were born, has the freedom to vote.” She emphasized that Virginia’s flawed voter purge targeted new Americans and undermined their fundamental voting rights.
Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the Advancement Project, labeled Youngkin’s attempted purge a “desperate” measure to undermine democracy. She pointed out that the actions aimed to incite distrust in Virginia’s electoral process, resulting in the wrongful removal of voters, particularly those from diverse backgrounds.
