Coalition of Groups File Lawsuit Arguing Youngkin, Miyares, etc. Are Engaging in “an illegal voter purge based on conspiracy theories”

Good to see this:

“[Monday, August 7], we — along with the League of Women Voters, the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, the Campaign Legal Center, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the Advancement Project— sued the state of Virginia. Filing here.

Long story short, the Governor of Virginia has ordered the Virginia Department of Elections and local election officials to systematically remove citizens who are eligible to vote from the voter rolls. This violates federal law — the National Voter Registration Act — in three ways.

[…]

Unfortunately, the illegal purges in Virginia are just one outgrowth of swirling conspiracy theories and lies about who is voting in our elections and whether everyone registered is legally allowed to vote. 

[…]

… This isn’t just an effort to disenfranchise voters. It’s an effort to muddy the waters, to spread lies, to see what sticks, and just generally make a mess so that, if Donald Trump loses, the excuses and conspiracies are primed and ready. “ 

So this is all awful, obviously. The good news is that Protect Democracy – “a nonpartisan, nonprofit group working to prevent authoritarianism” – is fighting back. Check out their legal complaint, which “bring[s] this action against Susan Beals, in her official capacity as Virginia Commissioner of Elections; the Virginia State Board of Elections Members, in their official capacities; and Jason Miyares, in his official capacity as Virginia Attorney General, and assert the following:

• “This action challenges a voter purge effort (the “Purge Program”) that patently violates Congress’s framework for protecting these fundamental rights through the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”). Less than 60 days ago, Defendants announced the latest version of an effort to implement an ongoing program to systematically remove certain voters from the rolls. But federal law mandates that no such voter cancelation or list maintenance programs may be conducted during the 90-day “quiet period” before an election. Congress prohibited such programs from occurring during this period to protect voter registration lists from the inevitable chaos of potentially inaccurate removals. Nevertheless, Defendants brazenly intensified their removal program the very day the quiet period commenced. Even the best designed list maintenance system undertaken with the best of intentions would be barred by federal law when so dangerously close to an election. That is reason alone to enjoin the continued operation of Defendants’ Purge Program.”
• “Moreover, Defendants’ Purge Program is far from such a well-designed, wellintended list maintenance effort. It is an illegal, discriminatory, and error-ridden program that has directed the cancelation of voter registrations of naturalized U.S. citizens and jeopardizes the rights of countless others.”
• “On August 7, 2024, only 90 days before the upcoming November 5 general election and 45 days before the start of early in-person voting, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 35 (“E.O. 35”), which provided  instructions for the Purge Program of alleged noncitizens…”
• “The Purge Program by design and in implementation threatens the voting rights of eligible Virginia voters who are naturalized citizens.”
• “What is clear from Plaintiffs’ investigation and the clear directives in E.O. 35 is that the Purge Program relies on erroneous data—from the DMV and perhaps other sources—that includes both naturalized and U.S.-born U.S. citizens and  is ongoing during the 90-day quiet period”
• “The Purge Program systematically removes Virginians from the voter rolls shortly before the November 2024 general election based solely on the fact that they were at one point
  identified as a potential noncitizens…”
• “Governor Youngkin’s ordered Purge Program, by design, identifies and classifies based on national origin without considering naturalized citizenship status. It then relies on that
  classification to mark individuals for removal from the voter rolls.”
• “In its implementation, the Purge Program arbitrarily sweeps in both naturalized citizens and U.S.-born citizens not targeted by the program.”
• “Plaintiffs therefore respectfully request that the Court
  declare the Purge Program unlawful, enjoin Defendants from implementing the Purge Program, restore all unlawfully removed voters to the rolls and provide public and individualized notice thereof, produce the list of voters identified as potential noncitizens, and afford Plaintiffs all other
  just and proper relief.”