What Judge Patricia Giles’ Virginia voter roll pause means for the election

A federal judge in Virginia has halted the state’s program to purge its voter rolls of potential non-citizens, and ordered that over 1,600 people be reregistered.

Non-citizen voting has become part of Republicans’ push against what they see as a fraudalent election and criticism of election security. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin moved to purge 1,600 people who were suspected of being non-citizens from voter roles, sparking a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice over its efforts to remove voters less than 90 days before Election Day.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles sided with the department, ruling that Virginia had to re-register the people who had been removed from voter rolls. Virginia asked that the ruling be paused pending appeal, but the judge refused, putting the ruling into effect immediately.

Youngkin said the state would appeal, arguing officials had acted within Virginia law to prevent ineligible residents from voting, while immigrant advocacy groups welcomed the ruling as a victory for naturalized citizens.

“Every American citizen, regardless of where they were born, has the freedom to vote,” Paul Smith, senior vice president of Campaign Legal Center, said in a press release.

“Virginia broke the law by conducting a last-minute purge that targeted naturalized citizens. We’re glad the court acted so every Virginian can make their voice heard in this upcoming election.”

Youngkin’s directive to monitor and update Virginia’s voter roll came on the first day of the 90-day period, which the DOJ argued was unnecessary, as there were strict rules in place preventing non-citizens from voting in Federal elections.

Youngkin insisted in a statement on Friday that Judge Giles’ ruling meant self-identified non-citizens would be allowed to vote.

“This is a Virginia law passed in 2006, signed by then-Governor Tim Kaine, that mandates certain procedures to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls, with safeguards in place to affirm citizenship before removal–and the ultimate failsafe of same-day registration for U.S. citizens to cast a provisional ballot,” Younkin said in a press release.

“This law has been applied in every Presidential election by Republicans and Democrats since enacted 18 years ago.”

Groups that also sued the state over its actions said residents were unfairly removed because they obtained their drivers licenses with a green card, meaning they were not a U.S. citizen at the time and had said so on documents. But, they’d since become one, making them eligible to vote.

“Today’s court decision affirms that newly naturalized citizens have the same rights as every other voter,” Joan Porte, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia, said in a press release.

“Purging newly naturalized Virginians is an attack on our democracy. We are proud this ruling protects Virginia voters and ensures their voices are protected and heard”

While Virginia admitted a small portion of the voters that were removed were American citizens, they argued during a hearing Thursday that most of the 1,600 people affected were not eligible to vote.

Charles Cooper, one of the attorneys for Virginia, said that if the court ruled in favor of the DOJ, it was likely that hundreds of non-citizens would vote on November 5.

“If a noncitizen votes, it cancels out a legal vote. And that is a harm,” he told the court Thursday.

Judge Giles’ injunction includes a requirement for letters to be sent to all of those affected, but it will include a line telling those who are non-citizens that they are barred from casting ballots anyway.

Younkin has promised to fight the ruling, with just 11 days to go until Election Day, with former President Donald Trump supporting him in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“This is a totally unacceptable travesty, and Governor Youngkin is absolutely right to appeal this ILLEGAL ORDER, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hopefully fix it!” Trump posted, adding that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote.