Feds accuse Virginia of unlawfully purging voters at the 11th hour

The Justice Department is suing the Commonwealth of Virginia, alleging that officials are unlawfully trying to remove people from the voting rolls within 90 days of a federal election.

At issue is an order signed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, which federal civil rights attorneys argue violates a provision of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, or "Motor Voter law," known as the "Quiet Period Provision," which "requires states to complete systematic programs aimed at removing the names of ineligible voters from voter registration lists no later than 90 days before federal elections."

Youngkin's order, federal authorities said in a news release, required "among other things that the commissioner of the Department of Elections certify that the Department of Elections was conducting 'Daily Updates to the Voter List.' These updates included 'compar[ing] the list of individuals who have been identified as non-citizens' by the State Department of Motor Vehicles 'to the list of existing registered voters'" — after which local registrars must “notify any matches of their pending cancellation unless they affirm their citizenship within 14 days” using an Affirmation of Citizenship Form.

The order was signed Aug. 7, but according to the DOJ, this process was ongoing as recently as last month, within the federally protected Quiet Period.

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“By cancelling voter registrations within 90 days of Election Day, Virginia places qualified voters in jeopardy of being removed from the rolls and creates the risk of confusion for the electorate," said Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke. "Congress adopted the National Voter Registration Act’s quiet period restriction to prevent error-prone, eleventh hour efforts that all too often disenfranchise qualified voters. The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and the Justice Department will continue to ensure that the rights of qualified voters are protected.”

This comes shortly after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against a similar voter registration removal program being carried out in Alabama, also allegedly within the Quiet Period.

These programs are being enacted in response to former President Donald Trump's baseless accusations that there are masses of noncitizens registering to vote, which is already illegal, extremely rare, and generally easy to spot when it happens.

Trump and the GOP filed suit in Nevada earlier this year based on a disputed analysis showing over 6,000 people in the state Department of Motor Vehicle's "non-citizen file" were also on voter rolls. Former Nevada GOP Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske investigated the claim years ago and determined most of those voters likely became naturalized citizens after being put on that list but before registering to vote.