In an 11th-hour bid to overturn a lower court ruling, the state of Virginia filed an emergency stay application to the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday. This came after the Fourth Circuit of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction that halted Virginia’s removal of likely noncitizens from its voter rolls and restored about 1,600 residents to the rolls. The appellate court ruled that the removals violated federal law as they were deemed “systematic.” The issue at hand is a provision in the National Voter Registration Act that requires states to halt systematic voter roll maintenance for 90 days before an election.
The Justice Department had previously sued Virginia over its removal program, arguing that it violated the “quiet period” provision and may have resulted in eligible voters being wrongly removed from the rolls without adequate notice or time to correct the mistake. Virginia’s Attorney General objected to the ruling, stating that the NRVA applies to noncitizens, potentially making the lawsuit obsolete. He also argued that the state has an individualized process for identifying noncitizens and removing them from voter rolls.
Governor Glenn Youngkin maintained that the removal of voters was done legally and cited a 2006 state law enacted by a Democratic governor as precedent. The case has become a contentious issue as the November 5 elections approach. It remains to be seen how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on Virginia’s emergency stay application in this high-stakes legal battle.
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