DOJ sues Virginia for cleaning voter lists weeks before election

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday sued the Commonwealth of Virginia and its election officials for allegedly trying to clear voters from its registration lists too close to the election. One section of the National Voter Registration Act prohibits states from expunging ineligible voters from their voter rolls less than 90 days out from a federal election.

What happened? The DOJ alleged Virginia violated that section when Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order requiring state officials to remove from the state’s voter registry anyone who couldn’t verify his or her citizenship with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Youngkin’s actions likely deterred eligible voters from participating in the 2024 election, the DOJ said.

What does Virginia have to say? Youngkin responded to the DOJ’s allegations by saying that a 2006 state law legally obligated him to take the steps he did to clear the state’s voter registration list before the election. Youngkin called the department’s actions nothing more than an attack on the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew about the various courtroom duels across the country over different voting methods, as well as the effect those battles could have on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.