The US Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the state of Virginia to continue removing voter registrations , targeting non-UD citizens. The decision came despite objections from three liberal justices, following Virginia's emergency appeal under Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin 's administration.
The conservative-led top court issued no explanation for its decision, according to AP report.
This action overturns a federal judge's earlier finding that Virginia had wrongfully removed over 1,600 voter registrations within two months. A federal appeals court had previously upheld this finding.
While non-citizen voting occurs infrequently in US elections , the issue has become central to Republican political discussions, particularly from former President Donald Trump and his allies.
Trump expressed his disapproval of the earlier ruling on social media, stating: "Only US Citizens should be allowed to vote," and calling it "a totally unacceptable travesty."
The Justice Department and various private organisations initiated legal action against Virginia in October. They contended that state election officials, following Youngkin's August executive order, were removing names from voter lists contrary to federal election law.
Federal law mandates a 90-day pause period before elections for voter roll maintenance to protect legitimate voters from administrative errors that could be difficult to correct quickly.
Youngkin issued his directive on August 7, exactly 90 days before the election, requiring daily cross-referencing between DMV data and voter rolls to identify non-citizens .
Judge Patricia Giles had ruled that while individual removals were permissible, systematic purges were not. Evidence showed that some removed registrations belonged to US citizens.
The judge had mandated the state to inform affected voters and local registrars about reinstating registrations by Wednesday.
Youngkin celebrated the Supreme Court's decision as supporting election integrity, while Danielle Lang from the Campaign Legal Center criticised the ruling as problematic for eligible citizens.
Virginia currently has approximately 6 million registered voters. A comparable case in Alabama resulted in a federal judge ordering the reinstatement of over 3,200 voters previously classified as ineligible non-citizens. State officials' testimony revealed that about 2,000 of these voters were actually legitimate citizens.
The conservative-led top court issued no explanation for its decision, according to AP report.
This action overturns a federal judge's earlier finding that Virginia had wrongfully removed over 1,600 voter registrations within two months. A federal appeals court had previously upheld this finding.
While non-citizen voting occurs infrequently in US elections , the issue has become central to Republican political discussions, particularly from former President Donald Trump and his allies.
Trump expressed his disapproval of the earlier ruling on social media, stating: "Only US Citizens should be allowed to vote," and calling it "a totally unacceptable travesty."
The Justice Department and various private organisations initiated legal action against Virginia in October. They contended that state election officials, following Youngkin's August executive order, were removing names from voter lists contrary to federal election law.
Federal law mandates a 90-day pause period before elections for voter roll maintenance to protect legitimate voters from administrative errors that could be difficult to correct quickly.
Youngkin issued his directive on August 7, exactly 90 days before the election, requiring daily cross-referencing between DMV data and voter rolls to identify non-citizens .
Judge Patricia Giles had ruled that while individual removals were permissible, systematic purges were not. Evidence showed that some removed registrations belonged to US citizens.
The judge had mandated the state to inform affected voters and local registrars about reinstating registrations by Wednesday.
Youngkin celebrated the Supreme Court's decision as supporting election integrity, while Danielle Lang from the Campaign Legal Center criticised the ruling as problematic for eligible citizens.
Virginia currently has approximately 6 million registered voters. A comparable case in Alabama resulted in a federal judge ordering the reinstatement of over 3,200 voters previously classified as ineligible non-citizens. State officials' testimony revealed that about 2,000 of these voters were actually legitimate citizens.
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