WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing Virginia to resume its purge of voter registrations that the state says is aimed at stopping people who aren't U.S. citizens from voting.
The justices on Wednesday granted an emergency appeal from Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration.
Watch previous coverage: Virginia asks Supreme Court to reinstate removal of 1600 voter registrations
The Justices acted on the state’s emergency appeal after a federal judge found that the state illegally purged more than 1,600 voter registrations in the past two months.
A federal appeals court had previously allowed the judge’s order to remain in effect.
Watch previous coverage: Judge blocks Youngkin's executive order removing voters from rolls
Such voting is rare in American elections, but the specter of immigrants voting illegally has been a main part of the political messaging this year from Donald Trump and other Republicans.
Youngkin issued a statement following the ruling:
"We are pleased by the Supreme Court’s order today. This is a victory for commonsense and election fairness. I am grateful for the work of Attorney General Jason Miyares on this critical fight to protect the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens. Clean voter rolls are one important part of a comprehensive approach we are taking to ensure the fairness of our elections. Virginians also know that we have paper ballots, counting machines not connected to the internet, a strong chain of custody process, signature verification, monitored and secured drop boxes, and a 'triple check' vote counting process to tabulate results. Virginians can cast their ballots on Election Day knowing that Virginia’s elections are fair, secure, and free from politically-motivated interference."
Watch related coverage: Election anxiety is real. Here's a few ways to help you cope.
Virginia's attorney general, Jason Miyares, also issued a statement:
When this began, I promised Virginians we would take this case all the way to the U.S Supreme Court if necessary. Today, I am pleased to report the Court granted our request for an emergency stay. This ruling ensures that – with less than a week before the elections – Virginians can vote with confidence knowing Virginians will be choosing our elected officials. I am grateful that the Supreme Court recognized the importance of this issue and issued its decision in such a short time frame.
This ruling is a win for election integrity and the rule of law. While I am gratified the Court moved so quickly, I remain deeply concerned and alarmed that the Biden-Harris administration chose to execute this maneuver just 25 days before an election. Today’s ruling is a reaffirmation of our commitment to election integrity, and I look forward to ensuring that our electoral process remains secure for all Virginians.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to our entire team at the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, and all of those who tirelessly worked to present our best possible case on behalf of the Commonwealth. My further thanks is extended to the 26 fellow attorneys general who stood in unity with Virginia in this case.
I encourage all Virginians to vote with confidence in the integrity of our elections on November 5th.
Several groups that included The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, the League of Women Voters in Virginia and African Communities Together, held a press conference to speak out against the Supreme Court's decision:
"This ruling is devastating for Virginia voters because we are effectively allowing eligible voters to be stripped of their fundamental rights just before a federal election," said Joan Porte, president for League of Women Voters of Virginia, "By permitting the systematic voter purges the court jeopardizes the integrity of our elections and silences the voices of voters . . . We must utilize a fairer system of checks and balances to maintain our voting roles and this relying on outdated and flawed data to remove thousands of people from the polls is at best reckless."
"Virginia's voter purge has removed eligible voters, we've spoken to many of them," added Ryan Snow, counsel for Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "I personally spoke with one who was naturalized more than 30 years ago and has been voting in every election since. Voting is very important to him. He didn't even receive the removal notice, he didn't understand he went to check his registration and found he'd been removed."
The concerns for these groups centered around the timing of the voter registration purge and the impact on people who have been naturalized.
"It sends a disturbing message that our voices are not valued, not wanted, and not American," said Bert Bayou, deputy director at African Communities Together.
In the meantime, Election Day is November 5.
People who can legally vote, but were removed in the purge, can still vote. They’ll need to check their registration and re-register if they were wrongly removed. In Virginia there is same day voter registration.
If you need voting assistance you can reach out to the following non-partisan election protection hotlines:
866-OUR-VOTE (English)
888-VE-Y-VOTA (Spanish/English)
844-YALLA-US (Arabic/English)
888-API-VOTE (Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese, English)
