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Virginia Ends Voter Purge Program
On April 17, 2026, the commonwealth of Virginia agreed to stop its illegal voter purge program that disproportionately impacted naturalized citizens on the eve of federal elections. This is a major victory for voters after the U.S. Supreme Court permitted the potential disenfranchisement of over 1,600 eligible Virginians right before the 2024 presidential election.
The National Voter Registration Act bans the systematic removal of voters from rolls within 90 days of a federal election, known as the “quiet period.” On the first day of the quiet period prior to the 2024 general election, then-Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin directed the state’s Department of Elections to escalate its systematic list maintenance procedures to identify and purge voters. This was problematic because the data provided by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles prompting voters’ removal is faulty and outdated, and the only remedy provided to voters is a single written notice with no further efforts to confirm their eligibility. The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, African Communities Together, and two individual Virginia voters who were unlawfully purged from the voter rolls filed a lawsuit to stop this illegal purge program. The plaintiffs are represented by Campaign Legal Center, Protect Democracy, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the Advancement Project….
https://electionlawblog.org/?p=155544