Judge orders Virginia to reinstate 1,600 voters removed in program targeting noncitizens – Washington Examiner
A federal judge has ordered Virginia to reinstate the voter registration of over 1,600 individuals who were removed under a state initiative aimed at disqualifying noncitizens from voting. U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles, appointed by President Joe Biden, indicated during a court hearing that evidence suggested some of those removed were actually eligible voters. The Justice Department had requested the reversal of these removals, supporting the claim that the process was flawed. Virginia’s Attorney General, Jason Miyares, criticized the ruling, asserting that the action, encouraged by the Biden administration, was politically motivated and came just weeks before the Election Day.
Judge orders Virginia to reinstate 1,600 voters removed in program targeting noncitizens
A federal judge ordered Virginia on Friday to restore voter registration rolls for just over 1,600 people who were removed under Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s (R-VA) executive order aimed to disqualify noncitizens from participating in the election.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles, an appointee of President Joe Biden, signaled how she would rule during an all-day hearing on Thursday over the Justice Department’s request to reverse the state’s removal of these voters, citing evidence submitted in court that some 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
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares released a statement condemning the court’s order after the request was “urged by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice.”
“The Department of Justice pulled this shameful, politically motivated stunt 25 days before Election Day, challenging a Virginia process signed into law 18 years ago by a Democrat governor and approved by the Department of Justice in 2006,” the Republican state attorney general said.
Miyares argued that the Biden-Harris administration was attempting to “weaponize the legal system against the enemies of so-called progress,” calling the litigation “bullying, pure and simple, and I always stand up to bullies.”
The state attorney general said Virginia will appeal Giles’s decision “all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.”
Since Youngkin’s Aug. 7 announcement that the state would perform daily updates to voter rolls, more than 1,600 people have been removed under the program.
The ruling was not immediately available on the public docket, but after hours of arguments from attorneys for the state, the DOJ, and lawyers for plaintiffs who alleged harm by the governor’s executive order, Giles appeared convinced that the program violated National Voter Registration Act requirements against “systematic” voter roll purges 90 days before an election.
Attorneys for the state maintained the program was not systematic and that anyone notified of voter roll removals would have the opportunity to request reinstatement.
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