The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Virginia over its efforts to purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, citing violations of federal voting laws. This action comes after Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order requiring daily updates to the voting list to identify “noncitizens” who may be registered to vote. Some individuals identified as noncitizens were actually U.S. citizens, leading to unnecessary cancellations of voter registrations. Youngkin has called the lawsuit politically motivated, while former President Donald Trump praised him for protecting democracy.
This is the second lawsuit in recent weeks that the DOJ has filed against a state for alleged violations of the National Voter Registration Act. The lawsuit claims that the state’s actions may have disenfranchised eligible voters on the eve of an election. Virginia has voted Democratic in recent presidential elections, but is facing challenges in the upcoming Senate race. The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights has also filed a lawsuit against Youngkin for the alleged discriminatory and error-ridden process of purging voters.
The DOJ’s lawsuit aims to prevent the removal of eligible voters, particularly naturalized Americans, close to an election. The state’s Department of Elections and elections commissioner, both named in the suit, have not commented on the pending litigation. The lawsuit highlights the importance of protecting voter rights and preventing the unlawful removal of eligible voters from the rolls.
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