See below for statements from Progress Virginia and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) “after a federal judge put an end to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s illegal voter roll purges happening within 90 days of an election.” Good stuff, although it never should have even been necessary – Youngkin et al never should have done the voter purge in the first place!
Youngkin Administration Must Stop Illegal Voter Purges, Court Rules
Alexandria, Virginia—Today, a judge in the United States Eastern District Court in Alexandria has ruled that the Youngkin administration must cease purging immigrant voters ahead of the 2024 election. VACIR vs. Beals challenged a policy that was the result of Executive Order 35, signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin on August 7, 2024. The policy would have required state and local election officials to remove individuals from the state voter registration list if Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records do not indicate U.S. citizenship. However, as the complaint explains, Virginia drivers’ licenses are available to non-citizens and can remain valid for up to eight years, meaning people who obtained driver’s licenses as non-citizens, who then subsequently became U.S. citizens, and lawfully registered to vote are being unlawfully purged from the voter rolls based on outdated DMV information. The lawsuit was brought by the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, the League of Women Voters Virginia, and African Communities Together. Both the cases brought by the private plaintiffs and the case brought by the Department of Justice were consolidated and heard together by the courts.
“Today, the court recognized that federal law protects voters from last-minute removals from the voter rolls,” said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project. “Ultimately, Virginia’s desperate attempt to undermine the will of the people and sow distrust in our elections was foiled. In an effort to feed false anti-immigrant tropes, citizens, disproportionately voters of color, have been wrongly removed from the voter rolls, and they must be restored.”
“Today, naturalized citizens, including the over 85,000 registered African voters in Virginia, have had their voices heard,” said Gigi Traore, National Civic Engagement Director at African Communities Together. “The ruling returns access to the ballot box back to voters, allowing them to exercise their fundamental right to vote”
“Today’s injunction on Executive Order 35 is an essential step to have fair and just elections that will permit naturalized citizens to cast their vote in our federal elections without the unfair burden of being forced to re-register,” said Jorge Figueredo at Edu-Futuro, a member of the VACIR Executive Board. “We at VACIR want to applaud the representation from The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Campaign Legal Center, the Protect Democracy Project, and Advancement Project for defending the right to vote for naturalized citizens in our Commonwealth. Our deepest gratitude goes to those U.S. citizens who bravely shared their stories with the court of having their right to vote be disenfranchised by Executive Order 35.”
Background:
A recording of the press conference held by voting rights advocates in advance of the decision can be found here using the password %8Cw&6Tj.
The lawsuit calls on the court to do the following:
- Declare the Purge Program violates the National Voting Rights Act of 1993
- Order Defendants to stop the Purge Program
- Order Defendants to instruct local officials to reinstate to the voter rolls anyone removed through the Purge Program, except those who confirmed they are not a citizen, and ensure they can cast a regular ballot
- Order Defendants to notify affected voters that they remain registered and can cast a regular ballot if they are eligible.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its own lawsuit on October 11, alleging Virginia’s Purge Program is systematically removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election.
Connolly Applauds Court Decision Stopping Governor Youngkin’s Illegal Voter Purges |
Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement after a federal judge put an end to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s illegal voter roll purges happening within 90 days of an election:
“Governor Youngkin’s effort to cancel voter registrations is clearly against federal law, which requires states to refrain from systematically purging voter rolls within 90 days of an election. I am grateful to the court for recognizing that reality. Voter fraud, particularly as it relates to citizenship, is exceedingly rare in Virginia. Governor Youngkin’s purges have served only one purpose – to disenfranchise thousands of lawfully voting citizens of the Commonwealth. That stops today.”
Connolly wrote to Governor Youngkin on October 7 to urge him to cease the purging of voter rolls. Connolly also notified the Department of Justices of the purges.
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