Virginia is illegally striking voters off the rolls, DOJ claims in new lawsuit

The U.S.Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Virginia election officials Friday that accuses the state of striking names from voter rolls in violation of federal election law.The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S.

District Court in Alexandria says that an executive order issued in August by Republican Gov.Glenn Youngkin requiring daily updates to voter lists to remove ineligible voters violates federal law.

The National Voter Registration Act requires a 90-day “quiet period” ahead of elections for the maintenance of voter rolls.“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,” Assistant U.S.Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.

“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.”A similar lawsuit was filed earlier this week by a coalition of immigrant-rights groups and the League of Women Voters.In its lawsuit, the Justice Department said the quiet-period provision reduces the risk that errors in maintaining registration lists will disenfranchise eligible voters by ensuring they have enough time to address errors before the election.On Aug.7 — 90 days before the Nov.

5 federal election — Youngkin’s order formalized a systemic process to remove people who are “unable to verify that they are citizens” to the state Department of Motor Vehicles from the statewide voter registration list.Virginia election officials are using data from the Department of Motor Vehicles to determine a voter’s citizenship and eligibility, according to the filing.The lawsuit alleges the DMV data can be inaccurate or outdated, but officials have not been taking additional steps to verify a person’s purported noncitizen status before mailing them a notice of canceling their voter eligibility.In a statement on F...