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The Justice Department, which filed suit against Virginia earlier this month, argued that eligible voters may have been mistakenly removed from voter rolls without adequate notification or time to contest the action. This led to heightened scrutiny of Virginia’s process and raised concerns over whether the state’s actions might inadvertently suppress lawful voters.
Virginia’s Attorney General, Jason S. Miyares, presented a counter-argument in his emergency petition to the Supreme Court, challenging the scope of the NVRA. Miyares argued that the act should not cover “self-identified noncitizens” and urged a narrower application of the law. Miyares contended that Virginia’s voter removal protocol involves an individualized assessment, facilitated by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and local election offices, ensuring compliance with both state and federal laws.
On Monday, a coalition of attorneys general from 26 Republican-led states joined Virginia in submitting an amicus brief supporting its stance. These states echoed Miyares’s call for a strict interpretation of the NVRA, arguing that the Justice Department’s interpretation of voter protections under the law was “overly broad” and shouldn’t extend to non-citizens. They urged the court to permit Virginia’s removal program, stating that this action was essential to prevent non-citizen voting in the upcoming election.
In their brief, attorneys for Virginia requested the Supreme Court’s support, stating, “This Court should reject Respondents’ effort to change the rules in the middle of the game and restore the status quo ante.” They argued that the U.S. Constitution grants Virginia the right to determine its voter qualifications, and the state has established that non-citizens are not eligible to vote.
The Supreme Court’s ruling comes after U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles, a Biden appointee, ordered Virginia to restore registration to more than 1,600 individuals whom the state had removed from its rolls. Giles’s order temporarily prohibited Virginia from continuing with any systematic voter roll maintenance less than 90 days before the November 2024 federal election. However, Giles permitted limited removals on a case-by-case basis, such as those involving criminal convictions or deceased voters.
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Virginia appealed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to stay Judge Giles’s order, but a three-judge panel comprising two Obama appointees and one Biden appointee denied the request, noting that it was “unpersuaded” Virginia’s voter removal process complied with the NVRA.
This ruling has sparked widespread discussions about states’ rights in managing voter eligibility and the importance of ensuring only eligible citizens cast ballots in federal elections.
