Tipsheet

The DOJ Just Put Thousands of Non-Citizens Back on the Voter Rolls in VA...and Youngkin Isn't Having It

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  October 25, 2024 12:25 PM

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is blasting the Biden Justice Department after a federal judge ruled the Commonwealth must reinstate non-citizens who were taken off of voter rolls ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

"Let’s be clear about what just happened: only eleven days before a Presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals–who self-identified themselves as noncitizens–back onto the voter rolls. Almost all these individuals had previously presented immigration documents confirming their noncitizen status, a fact recently verified by federal authorities," Youngkin released in a statement Friday. "Virginia will immediately petition the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and, if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court, for an emergency stay of the injunction."

Youngkin went on to point out that it was a Democratic governor who originally signed the Virginia law that allows for non-citizens to be taken off of the rolls. 

"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. This law has been applied in every Presidential election by Republicans and Democrats since enacted 18 years ago," Youngkin added. 

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares echoed that message. 

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"It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter. Yet, today a Court – urged by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice – ordered Virginia to put the names of non-citizens back on the voter rolls, mere days before a presidential election. The Department of Justice pulled this shameful, politically motivated stunt 25 days before Election Day, challenging a Virginia process signed into law 18 years ago by a Democrat governor and approved by the Department of Justice in 2006," Miyares said about the ruling. 

"More concerning is the open practice by the Biden-Harris administration to weaponize the legal system against the enemies of so-called progress. That is the definition of lawfare. To openly choose weaponization over good process and lawfare over integrity isn’t democracy: it’s bullying, pure and simple, and I always stand up to bullies," he continued. "In the meantime, I encourage every Virginian to exercise their right to vote. Rest assured, I will never stop fighting to preserve the integrity of our election process."

Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll shows the overwhelming majority of Americans believe in election integrity measures like voter identification and proof of citizenship.