Justice Department Sues Virginia Officials Over State’s Noncitizen Voter Roll Purge

An election ballot. (Credit: Adobe Stock)

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Virginia over its voter roll maintenance program, alleging that the state is illegally removing voters from the rolls too close to the 2024 general election.

The complaint alleges that the state Board of Elections and Virginia Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals are violating the federal National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which mandates that states must complete their maintenance program no later than 90 days before an election under a clause known as the Quiet Period Provision.

Virginia allegedly violated this provision when Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced an executive order on Aug. 7 — 90 days before the Nov. 5 election — requiring the elections commissioner to regularly update the state’s voter lists to remove individuals who’ve been “identified as non-citizens” and haven’t responded to a request to verify their citizenship in 14 days. 

“The Executive Order formalized the Program and announced that 6,303 individuals had been removed from the rolls pursuant to the same process between January 2022 and July 2024,” the complaint says.

The complaint says voters are identified as possible noncitizens under the program if they responded “no” to questions about their citizenship status on certain forms submitted to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. “Voters who chose ‘No’ are identified as possible noncitizens even if they have previously submitted voter registration forms where they have affirmed that they are U.S. citizens.”

Attorneys with the DOJ are asking a federal court to restore active voter status to U.S. citizens whose registration was canceled under the program during the quiet period. They also want the court to compel Virginia officials to pause the program until after the election.

The lawsuit comes days after pro-voting groups also sued Beals and the state election board over the Aug. 7 order. In response to that complaint, a spokesperson for Young told NBC 4 that the state is complying with state and federal law.

“Every step in the established list maintenance process is mandated by Virginia law and begins after an individual indicates they are not a citizen,” Christian Martinez told the local NBC affiliate. “Anyone spreading misinformation about it is either ignoring Virginia law or is trying to undermine it because they want noncitizens to vote.”

Virginia isn’t the only state under scrutiny over its voter roll maintenance. Last month, the Justice Department sued the state of Alabama and Secretary of State Wes Allen (R) over the state’s voter purge program that targeted noncitizen voters. 

Read the complaint here.

Read more about the case here.

Learn more about voter roll maintenance here.