Federal Lawsuit Targets Governor’s Executive Order
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit on Friday against Virginia election officials, accusing the state of illegally purging voters from its rolls ahead of the November election. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, challenges an executive order issued by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin in August, which mandates daily updates to voter lists, including the removal of ineligible voters.
The DOJ argues that this process violates the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which requires a 90-day “quiet period” before federal elections to avoid last-minute errors that could disenfranchise eligible voters.
DOJ Cites Federal Election Law Violations
Kristen Clarke, Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights, emphasized the importance of protecting voters’ rights in her statement. “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,” Clarke said. “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.”
The lawsuit highlights that the quiet period was designed to give voters time to correct any potential errors in their registration before Election Day.
Controversial Executive Order and Data Concerns
On August 7, Governor Youngkin issued an executive order formalizing a process that relies on data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to verify a person’s citizenship and voter eligibility. The DOJ’s lawsuit claims that the DMV data used to remove voters could be inaccurate or outdated, and officials have not taken additional steps to verify noncitizen status before removing individuals from the rolls.
The lawsuit also alleges that officials mailed cancellation notices without proper verification, raising concerns that eligible voters may have been wrongfully removed.
Governor Youngkin Defends Actions
Governor Youngkin defended the state’s actions, stating that Virginia is following its legal obligation to maintain accurate voter rolls by removing noncitizens. In a statement responding to the lawsuit, Youngkin accused the DOJ of politicizing the issue, saying, “Virginians — and Americans — will see this for exactly what it is: a desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of the elections in the Commonwealth, the very crucible of American Democracy.”
With support from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Youngkin vowed to fight the lawsuit. “We will defend these commonsense steps, that we are legally required to take, with every resource available to us. Virginia’s election will be secure and fair, and I will not stand idly by as this politically motivated action tries to interfere in our elections.”
