Virginia filed for an emergency stay in the US Supreme Court after a Biden-appointed judge mandated the state reinstate over 1,600 noncitizens removed from the voter rolls.
On Friday U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles, a Biden appointee raised serious concerns about election integrity and the potential for voter fraud in the Commonwealth after she ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,600 noncitizens to the state’s voter rolls 11 days before Election Day.
Chief Justice Roberts asked for a response by 3 pm Tuesday.
Virginia has filed for an emergency stay in the SCOTUS to stop the implementation of the trial court’s order requiring VA election officials to reinstate persons on VA’s voters roll.
Justice Roberts has asked for a response by 3 pm tomorrow. https://t.co/JZ7g8Qxp09
— Leslie McAdoo Gordon (@McAdooGordon) October 28, 2024
The Justice Department earlier this month announced it is suing the state of Virginia for removing non-citizens from its voter rolls.
“The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Virginia, Virginia State Board of Elections and Virginia Commissioner of Elections to challenge a systematic state program aimed at removing voters from its election rolls too close to the Nov. 5 general election in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA),” the DOJ announced.
“Section 8(c)(2) of the NVRA, also known as the Quiet Period Provision, requires states to complete systematic programs aimed at removing the names of ineligible voters from voter registration lists no later than 90 days before federal elections. The Quiet Period Provision applies to certain systematic programs carried out by states that are aimed at striking names from voter registration lists based on a perceived failure to meet initial eligibility requirements — including citizenship — at the time of registration,” the DOJ said.
“As the National Voter Registration Act mandates, officials across the country should take heed of the law’s crystal clear and unequivocal restrictions on systematic list maintenance efforts that fall within 90 days of an election,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “By cancelling voter registrations within 90 days of Election Day, Virginia places qualified voters in jeopardy of being removed from the rolls and creates the risk of confusion for the electorate. 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. 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 comes two months after Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) issued an executive order that codifies election security procedures to protect the 2024 election against intentional fraud.
Governor Youngkin blasted the Justice Department and said the law has been in place for over a decade and supported by Democrats.
Last week Virginia’s Lt. Governor Winsome Sears told Maria Bartiromo that several thousand noncitizens were on Virginia’s voters.
“What we found, over 6,000 – 6,300 people… who identify that they’re not citizens — and yet they’re on voter rolls,” Winsome Sears said.
She continued, “We found people who have been dead since 1960 who were still on the voter rolls.”
