Supreme Court allows Virginia to purge 1,600 individuals from voter rolls

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Virginia can continue with its purge of more than 1,600 voter registrations ahead of next week’s general election, that state officials say are held by non-citizens. The emergency decision is considered a victory for conservatives in Virginia and can possibly affect other states.

In a 6-3 ruling, the high court reversed a lower court’s decision that put the program on hold and required the state to restore the voters in question to the rolls. The brief order noted that the three liberal justices on the court — Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor — dissented from the decision.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement: “This is a victory for commonsense and election fairness. Virginians can cast their ballots on Election Day knowing that Virginia’s elections are fair, secure, and free from politically-motivated interference.”

The Biden administration and purge opponents had won at the district court and federal appeals court levels before the Supreme Court reversed the injunction on Wednesday, allowing the purge to move forward.  The DOJ and other challengers said the purge was against federal law because it actually stripped eligible voters of their ability to vote, while opponents said those purged never knew they were taken off the rolls.

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