By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow Virginia to purge suspected noncitizens from its voter registration rolls just days ahead of the General Election.
On Oct. 30, a divided court sided with the state’s Republicans and allowed Virginia to continue a program that aimed to remove voters from its registration rolls without reason. The three liberal Justices, Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Keagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, however, they also did not give an explanation.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, said in a statement obtained by the AFRO that he is “pleased” with the court’s ruling.
“This is a victory for common sense and election fairness. Clean voter rolls are one important part of a comprehensive approach we are taking to ensure the fairness of our elections,” said Youngkin. “Virginians can cast their ballots on Election Day knowing that Virginia’s elections are fair, secure, and free from politically-motivated interference.”
Syvante Myrick, president of People for the American Way, told the AFRO that Gov. Youngkin and the U.S. Supreme Court should be ashamed of themselves for “trying to move the goalposts at the last minute in this election.”
“This is exactly the kind of partisan election interference by a MAGA dominated Supreme Court that we are most concerned about this year,” said Myrick. “It’s very clear, as the Justice Department maintained, that this attempt to purge Virginia’s voter rolls is a violation of the ‘quiet period’ required in the 90 days before Election Day, but MAGA justices are choosing to green light this violation.”
Myrick emphasized the need for court reform given this latest ruling.
“This is why we will have all eyes on the Supreme Court as this election unfolds: we have serious concerns about whether the Court will fulfill its role as an impartial arbiter or act as an arm of the Trump campaign,” said Myrick. “This ruling is a red flag we can’t ignore.”
This ruling comes after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of Virginia for violating a federal law that prohibits the removal of voters just months ahead of an election.
The Justice Department announced the State of Virginia, State Board of Elections and Virginia Commissioner of Elections created a systematic state program aimed at removing voters from its election rolls too close to the Nov. 5 General Election, which violated the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
The act requires states to complete systematic programs that aim to remove the names of ineligible voters from voter registration lists no later than 90 days before federal elections.
The department’s Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement obtained by the AFRO, that states need to “take heed of the law’s crystal clear and unequivocal restrictions.”
“By cancelling voter registrations within 90 days of Election Day, Virginia places qualified voters in jeopardy by being removed from the rolls and creates the risk of confusion for the electorate,” said Clarke. “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 attorney general stressed the importance of voting in “our democracy” and ensured that the Justice Department “will continue to ensure that the rights of qualified voters are protected.”
U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.-4) told the AFRO that Virginia’s violation of the federal law was “an obvious and illegal effort to suppress voter participation.”
“I’m glad the Department of Justice stepped forward and brought this to court. It’s very unfortunate that so many Republicans, including Governor Youngkin, are trying to put their thumb on the scale by finding ways to make it harder for people to vote,” said Ivey, “or blocking them from voting entirely under the false pretense that there’s some kind of massive fraud going on in these elections.
Ivey blamed Youngkin’s actions on former President Donald Trump.
“It’s sort of an enabling component of this Trump sore loser approach to elections that I think is very damaging to the democratic process,” added Ivey. “I really hope that the Republican Party decides to move past this and just compete for votes straight up and down instead of trying to essentially cheat within the process.”