The Biden administration has filed a lawsuit against Virginia election officials, alleging that they violated federal law by purging voters flagged as potential non-citizens during the quiet period before an election. This period prohibits systematic removals of voters from registration rolls.
In court filings, the Justice Department stated that Virginia's purge program, initiated by an executive order from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, violates the National Voter Registration Act. The Act requires that any mass voter removal programs be completed at least 90 days before an election.
The lawsuit claims that previous iterations of the program resulted in the removal of likely citizens from the voter rolls. An election official mentioned that many purged voters had affirmed their citizenship, including some with social security numbers.
The lawsuit also alleges that local election officials have no discretion to prevent the cancellation of voters who fail to respond to notices, even if officials believe those voters are U.S. citizens.
In response to the lawsuit, Youngkin criticized the Biden administration for filing the lawsuit less than 30 days before the election. The executive order directing the voter removals was issued exactly 90 days before the election, but the Justice Department argues that removals have been ongoing since then.
The executive order required local election officials to remove voters who indicated non-citizenship on DMV forms. These voters were given 14 days to confirm their citizenship or face registration cancellation.
This lawsuit follows a similar challenge by the Justice Department against Alabama officials for their voter removal actions.
