The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 decision to allow Virginia to resume its efforts to remove more than 1,600 self-identified noncitizens from its voter rolls. This decision lifts a lower court order that had paused the program following a legal challenge from the U.S. Department of Justice, which argued that the removals could infringe upon voter rights and potentially affect citizens mistakenly identified as noncitizens.
BREAKING: Supreme Court rules 6-3 to allow Virginia to remove noncitizens from its voting rolls, lifting an order that halted the program. pic.twitter.com/dLO0lnSyy6
— America (@america) October 30, 2024
Attorney General Merrick Garland asserted that Virginia violated federal election law by purging voter rolls within 90 days of an election.
As The Washington Times reports:
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, though, said the individuals self-identified as noncitizens, so the state had an obligation — and indeed a legal duty under Virginia law — to remove them.
“Let’s be clear about what just happened: Only 11 days before a presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals — who self-identified themselves as noncitizens — back onto the voter rolls. Almost all these individuals had previously presented immigration documents confirming their noncitizen status, a fact recently verified by federal authorities,” the Republican governor said.
Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia delivered her ruling Friday from the bench, granting an injunction that ordered the names restored.
Judge Giles ruled that names can only be removed from now to the election if they are cases of criminal conviction, mental incapacity, death, or request of a particular voter.
The court’s conservative majority ruled in favor of lifting the restriction, while all three liberal justices dissented.
We are pleased by the Supreme Court’s order today. This is a victory for commonsense and election fairness. I am grateful for the work of Attorney General @JasonMiyaresVA on this critical fight to protect the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens. Clean voter rolls are one…
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) October 30, 2024
This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. It is republished with permission.
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