The U.S. government, under the helm of President Biden, has instigated a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia and its chief electoral authorities. At the crux of the matter lies an allegation that the State has contravened federal statutes by purging noncitizens from the voting rolls well within the 90 days leading up to the next Federal Election. This information has been made public by the Department of Justice.
The legal action, which came to light on the past Friday, takes issue with the conduct of Virginia’s Governor, Glenn Youngkin, and the State’s Board of Elections, charging them with transgressions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993. The central contention presented by the Department of Justice hinges on Virginia’s recent initiatives to cull noncitizens from their voting registration lists.
Governor Youngkin had issued a directive to perform this cull in August. The Department of Justice, however, states that this initiative took place amidst what is recognized as a ‘Quiet Period.’, a federally designated duration wherein such systematic actions are strictly forbidden.
In accordance with Section 8(c)(2) of the NVRA, colloquially referred to as the ‘Quiet Period Provision,’ states are precluded from executing extensive cleanup of voter registries inside a 90-day window before a Federal Election. The conduct of Virginia is not only in breach of this provision, but also might lead to the inadvertent disenfranchisement of eligible voters who could be inaccurately pruned and left with no sufficient time to restore their standing.
The activities undertaken by the Commonwealth hence put lawful voters at the peril of being excluded from the voter rolls and engender a potential milieu of misunderstanding amongst the electors.
In reply to the legal action, Governor Youngkin mounted a quick defense, stating that his administration’s deeds were an enactment of a 2006 law demanding the exclusion of noncitizens from voter rolls. He criticized this lawsuit as a frantic move to question the validity of the elections in the Commonwealth.
Youngkin stated that his fellow Virginians, as well as the rest of the Americans, will discern this legal action as an effort to assault the legitimacy of their electoral process.
While the Department of Justice acknowledges that states retain the prerogative to remove disqualified voters from their voter lists, it maintains that such systematic procedures need to be brought to fruition outside the 90-day threshold. This is to deter any slip-ups and misinterpretations that could arise in the vicinity of the election.
The department highlighted the potential to erroneously remove American citizens during this timeframe, mirroring concerns shown in recent incidences where some Virginians were inaccurately flagged as noncitizens using data from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The lawsuit serves to additionally feather the nest of a burgeoning legal battle over voter roll management; this comes tantalizingly close to the infantry of the November 5 General Election.
As these issues unfold, both parties are anticipated to persist with their respective contentions over the following days. All the while, advocates of voting rights are expected to supervise the evolution of the case with rapt attention.
The legal probe into the matter is yet to reach a conclusion, thus signifying the continuation of the investigation into this multifaceted issue. The outcome of this challenge sets a significant precedent for the regulation and verification of voter rolls in the run-up to major elections.