US Supreme Court Lets Virginia Purge Noncitizens From Voter Rolls
The US Supreme Court has granted a request by Virginia officials to move forward with its removal of roughly 1,600 alleged noncitizens from the state's voter rolls - granting a request from state officials to pause a lower court order that blocked Virginia from continuing a systematic voter removal program launched in August.
"The application for stay presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted. The October 25, 2024 order of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ... is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit..." reads the order, which passed by a vote of 6-3.
BREAKING: Supreme Court rules 6-3 to allow Virginia to remove noncitizens from its voting rolls, lifting an order that halted the program. pic.twitter.com/dLO0lnSyy6
— America (@america) October 30, 2024
As the Epoch Times noted on Monday, the application was filed in the case known as Beals v. Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights.
The application was directed to Chief Justice John Roberts, who oversees emergency litigation from Virginia.
The lead applicant, Susan Beals, is Virginia’s Commissioner of Elections.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found unanimously on Oct. 27 that taking the names off the voter rolls within 90 days of an approaching federal election appears to violate the National Voter Registration Act.
Federal elections are scheduled for Nov. 5.
I’m glad Virginia stood up for election integrity and beat the Biden-Harris Administration’s attempt to allow noncitizens to vote. https://t.co/sYPZVMuHug
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 30, 2024
The Supreme Court previously held in Purcell v. Gonzalez (2006) that courts should not change rules close to an election because doing so creates a risk of causing confusion.
Virginia counters that the legal provision is not relevant because the names being removed are not those of U.S. voters.
But “that argument violates basic principles of statutory construction by focusing on a differently worded statutory provision that is not at issue here and proposing a strained reading of the Quiet Period Provision to avoid rendering that other provision absurd or unconstitutional,” the Fourth Circuit said.
Can we do this in all the other states where the Democrats are trying to ensure that illegals are able to vote? There’s a reason Democrats are doing this and I can assure you it’s not to “protect democracy.” https://t.co/0SWd2ItuEw
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 30, 2024
Such an interpretation would be problematic because it would give the words “voters” and “registrant” an identical meaning, the circuit court said.
Moreover, Virginia had not demonstrated its appeal was likely to succeed or that it would suffer irreparable harm should the appeal be denied, the circuit court said as it affirmed an Oct. 25 ruling by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles.
Giles wrote that Virginia was still free to cancel the voter registration of noncitizens individually or to investigate “noncitizens who register to vote or who vote in Virginia’s election.”
The ruling applies only to Virginia’s “systematic” effort to remove noncitizens that began after Aug. 7, she added.