The US Department of Justice has sued Virginia for violating federal election law via Reuters
Written by Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it has sued the state of Virginia for violating a law that prohibits systematic efforts to displace voters within 90 days of an election.
On August 7, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order ordering the Department of Elections commissioner to ensure that the department conducted “daily voter roll updates” to remove, among other groups, people who could not verify that they voted. they are citizens of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
US citizens who have been identified and notified, and who have not verified their citizenship within 14 days will be removed from the list of registered voters, the Department of Justice said. It said this practice has resulted in citizens being disenrolled from registering to vote before the November 5 election.
“By canceling voter registration within 90 days of Election Day, Virginia is putting eligible voters at risk of being removed from the rolls and creating a risk of voter confusion,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke.
“Congress adopted the goal of the National Voter Registration Act to prevent error-prone, eleventh-hour efforts that often disenfranchise qualified voters,” Clarke added.
The ministry said it is seeking relief that will restore the power of affected voters to vote without hindrances on Election Day and will prevent violations in the future.
Youngkin called the move politically motivated and an attempt to interfere in the election.
“With the support of our Attorney General, we will defend these reasonable measures that we must legally take with all the resources we have,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Republican President Donald Trump described the department's case as “an illegal and illegal attack on American democracy.”
Republicans across the US opposed non-citizen voting, which is already illegal, ahead of the November election. Some election officials have warned that the move could penalize eligible voters.
