Judge Orders Virginia To Reinstate 1,600 Voters Who Were Removed In Non-citizens Program – One America News Network

October 25, 2024 James Meyers US 0

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA - SEPTEMBER 9: The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is seen on morning of opening arguments in the Department of Justice's second antirust trial against Google in Alexandria, Virginia on September 9, 2024. The Department of Justice will argue that Google's advertising business creates an unequal field for its competitors and creates a monopoly that leads to higher ad prices for customers.(Photo by Bonnie Cash/Getty Images) — The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is seen on morning of opening arguments in the Department of Justice’s second antirust trial against Google in Alexandria, Virginia on September 9, 2024. (Photo by Bonnie Cash/Getty Images)

OAN Staff James Meyers
11:19 AM – Friday, October 25, 2024

A federal judge ordered Virginia on Friday to restore voter registration rolls for just over 1,600 people who were removed under Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order, which aimed to disqualify noncitizens from participating in the election.

District Judge Patricia Giles, an appointee of the Biden administration, alluded to how she would rule during a hearing on Thursday over the Justice Department’s (DOJ) request to reverse Youngkin’s (R-Va.) decision, noting “some evidence submitted” in court that a percentage of people removed from the rolls were eligible voters.

Attorney General Miyares Releases Statement on Court Ruling Regarding Non-Citizens On Voter Rolls
It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter. Yet, today a Court – urged by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice – ordered Virginia to put the names of non-citizens back…

— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) October 25, 2024

The DOJ also claimed that the removals were conducted “too close to the November 5^th elections” and that it violates the National Voter Registration Act, a federal law that requires states to halt all systematic voter roll maintenance for a 90-day “quiet period” before an election.

“States may remove names from official lists of voters in various ways and for various reasons, but they may not carry-on this kind of systematic removal program so close to a federal election,” DOJ officials wrote in filing their October 11^thlawsuit.

Meanwhile, the ruling is expected to be met with pushback from Youngkin, who has highlighted that the voters were removed legally. The executive order signed by the governor in August authorized the state to conduct daily updates to its voter rolls.

The order also allowed the state to compare its Department of Motor Vehicles noncitizens list against its list of registered voters. Those without citizenship were then informed that their voter registration would be canceled unless they could prove their citizenship in 14 days.

The Virginia governor has repeatedly maintained that voters were removed legally and that the decision is based on precedent from a 2006 state law enacted by then-Governor Tim Kaine, a Democrat.

Youngkin also noted that the law uses an “individualized process” to both determine and notify potential noncitizens that they had been included on the voter registration list, and without further action, would be removed.