Supreme Court allows Virginia to resume purge of alleged non-citizen voter registrations

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In a significant move regarding voter registration protocols, the U.S. Supreme Court has given the green light to Virginia to recommence its efforts to purge potential non-citizen voters from the state’s registration rolls. This decision aligns with Virginia’s objective of preventing illegal voting by individuals who are not U.S. citizens.

This development arrives just ahead of the upcoming general election and follows the Virginia Attorney General’s plea to the Supreme Court. The state’s initiative aims to remove around 1,600 individuals who are suspected of not being citizens, which had been put on hold due to a recent lower court ruling that reinstated these voters’ registrations.

In August, Governor Glenn Youngkin enacted an executive order mandating daily comparisons between DMV records and voter registrations to identify those who may not be eligible to vote. However, this has sparked controversy. The U.S. Department of Justice and multiple advocacy groups have challenged the legality of this purge, claiming it breaches the National Voter Registration Act. This act stipulates that states must conduct removals of ineligible voters at least 90 days before federal elections.

According to federal officials, many of those removed from the rolls were, in fact, citizens, affected more by clerical errors than any legitimate issues regarding their eligibility. The case reached a crescendo when U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles declared the state’s program illegal and ordered the restoration of the disputed registrations last Friday. In a passionate response, Attorney General Jason Miyares criticized the ruling, stating, “It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter.” He denounced the Justice Department’s intervention as politically motivated and contrary to Virginia law.

Following Judge Giles’ injunction, a federal appeals court upheld her ruling, but the Supreme Court’s recent decision provides Virginia officials with a temporary reprieve. They argued that the mandate to restore non-citizen registrations does not apply to their situation, emphasizing that federal law restricts voting rights to citizens exclusively.

Concerns about election integrity are not merely hypothetical; instances of non-citizens voting have been documented. In North Carolina, a post-election audit uncovered cases where immigrants participated in state elections even without citizenship status. The stories of individuals like Eloy Alberto Zayas-Berrier, who faced hurdles in securing U.S. citizenship while managing to vote, highlight the complexities of this issue. His experience at the polls illustrates potential vulnerabilities within the voter registration process.

As these legal battles unfold, legislation such as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act has recently emerged, aiming to ensure that only verified U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. Proponents like House Speaker Mike Johnson underscore the necessity of stringent measures to verify voter eligibility, stating, “Proof of citizenship as a requirement to vote in our elections should not be controversial.” Meanwhile, the debate continues, reflecting broader national conversations about voting access and election security.

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