The Division of Justice (DOJ) introduced a lawsuit towards the state of Virginia for purging voter rolls on Friday. The division claims state officers violated the Nationwide Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) by difficult voters’ eligibility too near the November election.
“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,” stated Kristen Clarke, assistant legal professional basic within the Civil Rights Division.
In early August, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) signed an government order confirming there have been “daily” updates to the voter checklist.
These updates included “compar[ing] the list of individuals who have been identified as non-citizens” by the State Division of Motor Autos “to the list of existing registered voters.”
Native registrars had been then required to contact challenged voters to tell them they had been “pending cancellation” except they “affirm their citizenship” inside 14 days.
DOJ stated the method led to some Virginians’ voter registration being cancelled.
“Systematic removal programs are more error-prone than other forms of list maintenance, and eligible voters placed on the path to removal days or weeks before Election Day may be deterred from voting or unable to participate in the election on the same terms that they would have but for the Commonwealth’s error,” learn the authorized submitting.
The case follows comparable DOJ filings towards Alabama. The NVRA permits a quiet interval provision which goals to forestall officers from hanging names from voter registration lists primarily based on a perceived failure to satisfy preliminary eligibility necessities — together with citizenship — on the time of registration.
“By canceling 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,” Clarke said. “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 Division is asking people who imagine they had been improperly eliminated to contact the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Part by way of their web reporting portal.
“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,” Clarke concluded.
