United States citizens were reportedly among a group of voters purged from rolls in Virginia after a state order sought to remove alleged noncitizens from the state's lists, according to a new report.
An executive order signed by Virginia's Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed around 1,600 names from voter rolls, part of an effort to remove noncitizens who were not eligible to vote. Youngkin also stated that the order enforced a 2006 law, as reported by the Associated Press.
However, some US citizens were also reportedly marked in that removal process. One case was that of Nadra Wilson, who was born in New York before moving to Lynchburg, Virginia. She said she first registered to vote in the state in 2016, but that she recently received a letter questioning her citizenship, as reported by NPR.
Wilson said the letter said her voter registration would be canceled in 14 days if she did not confirm her citizenship, but since the letter was first sent to an old address before reaching her, she missed the deadline. She reportedly showed NPR her passport as proof of citizenship.
The state of Virginia was ordered to reinstate the voters removed from the lists by a U.S. District Court judge earlier this month. The judge said state authorities violated federal law by removing the names within 90 days of an election, according to AP.
Youngkin argued that the state's process identified potential noncitizens through data from the Department of Motor Vehicles and gave individuals a chance to appeal their disqualification. However, evidence provided in court by private groups and the Department of Justice showed that some on the list were in fact US citizens.
Virginia officials appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the court's ruling on Monday.
