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Federal judge blocks voter purge program, Youngkin vows an appeal

A federal judge has shut down a controversial voter purge program from Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Back in August, the governor signed an executive order calling for daily checks of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle data – a move meant to remove non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls.

However, the U.S. Department of Justice and advocacy groups argued that was a violation of federal law – which states there should be a 90-day “quiet period” for removals ahead of an election.

The judge has also ordered Virginia to reinstate those impacted by the program. That includes some legal voters who were also removed through the process. There were even some examples where individuals were removed, proved their citizenship, restored to the rolls and then removed again.

Ryan Snow, an attorney who represented some of the advocacy groups in the case, says the judge's order is a big victory. "All of the eligible voters wo were wrongfully purged from the voter rolls will now be able to cast their ballots," Snow said in a statement. "No one should mess with a citizen's right to vote."

He told reporter Michael Pope that, "none of the evidence provide by the Commonwealth establishes that any of those removed voters non-citizens. The Commonwealth keeps relying on the fact that a voter checked a box at the DMV and quote unquote self-identified as a non-citizen. Well, by definition anybody who has registered to vote has already affirmed their citizenship in Virginia. Many of the voters who were removed have affirmed their citizenship multiple times."

Governor Glenn Youngkin has responded to the ruling as well. In a statement, he said it amounts to a reinstatement of over 1,500 individuals who self-identified themselves as non-citizens. He has also vowed that the state will seek an emergency stay of the injunction.

Here's the governor's entire statement:

"Let’s be clear about what just happened: only eleven days before a Presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals–who self-identified themselves as noncitizens–back onto the voter rolls. Almost all these individuals had previously presented immigration documents confirming their noncitizen status, a fact recently verified by federal authorities.

This is a Virginia law passed in 2006, signed by then-Governor Tim Kaine, that mandates certain procedures to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls, with safeguards in place to affirm citizenship before removal–and the ultimate failsafe of same-day registration for U.S. citizens to cast a provisional ballot. This law has been applied in every Presidential election by Republicans and Democrats since enacted 18 years ago.

Virginia will immediately petition the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and, if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court, for an emergency stay of the injunction."

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Updated: October 25, 2024 at 2:01 PM EDT
This story has been updated to include audio from reporter Michael Pope at the Alexandria courtroom and additional comment from Ryan Snow.
Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.
Nick Gilmore is a meteorologist, news producer and reporter/anchor for RADIO IQ.
Brad Kutner is Radio IQ's reporter in Richmond.