Virginia asked the Supreme Court on Monday to greenlight the removals of more than 1,600 people from the state’s voter rolls.
State officials say the individuals are noncitizens, but the Justice Department challenged that assertion and convinced a district judge to reinstate the voters because the removals took place too close to the election.
Virginia now seeks emergency relief from the Supreme Court to pause that ruling after the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to do so in a rare Sunday decision.
“Not only will the Commonwealth of Virginia be irreparably harmed absent a stay, so will its voters and the public at large,” the state wrote in its emergency application.
Though research indicates noncitizen voting is rare, Republicans have latched on to the issue as the election approaches. Former President Trump at a Friday campaign event brought up the court-ordered restoration of the registrations in Virginia, calling it “outrageous.”
The Justice Department and a group of private plaintiffs claim Virginia violated the federal National Voter Registration Act’s prohibition on systematic voter roll removals within 90 days of an election. The Justice Department has similarly sued Alabama.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), exactly 90 days before Election Day, issued an executive order formalizing a program to remove potential noncitizens from the state’s rolls — more than 1,600 people have been removed as a result, court filings show.
Virginia election officials say the individuals were identified as noncitizens based on a federal database or Department of Motor Vehicles forms.
But when blocking the removals Friday, U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles noted the challengers quickly found citizens among the list and that some of the discrepancies could be explained by user error. Giles was appointed by President Biden.
A three-judge 4th Circuit panel, all appointed by Democratic presidents, largely refused Virginia’s emergency request to pause the ruling. In a rare occurrence, the decision was handed down during the weekend.
The 4th Circuit kept Giles’s ruling in place except for a provision ordering Virginia to educate poll workers and the public about the voters’ restoration. The panel said that requirement was “not sufficiently clear.”
Virginia officials “remain able to prevent noncitizens from voting by canceling registrations on an individualized basis or prosecuting any noncitizen who votes,” the panel wrote in its ruling.
