A U.S. federal judge on Friday blocked Virginia from removing individuals it claimed had not proven their citizenship from its voter rolls. The judge stated that this action violated a federal prohibition on purging large numbers of voters within the final 90 days before an election.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ordered the state to restore the eligibility of the voters it had removed, just under two weeks before the Nov. 5 election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
Virginia filed a notice of appeal on Friday afternoon. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that the state would take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. Youngkin had signed an executive order on Aug. 7, requiring the commissioner of the Department of Elections to ensure daily updates to the voter list, including the removal of individuals unable to verify their citizenship.
The Justice Department, in a lawsuit challenging Virginia’s actions, stated that U.S. citizens who received notifications but did not affirm their citizenship within 14 days would face removal from the voter registration list. This practice has led to citizens losing their voter registrations before elections.
Trump and his allies have repeatedly warned this year, without providing evidence, that they suspect large numbers of noncitizens could vote in the election. It remains illegal for noncitizens to vote, and both state and private reviews have found very few instances of such occurrences.
In her ruling, Judge Giles highlighted a “clear violation of the 90-day quiet provision,” as reported by The Washington Post. She remarked, “It is not happenstance that this executive order was announced on the 90th day.” Trump labeled the ruling “a totally unacceptable travesty,” expressing hope that the Supreme Court would “hopefully fix it.”
