The Supreme Court has issued a temporary stay on a lower court's decision, allowing Virginia to refrain from restoring non-citizens to its voter rolls. This move counters the Biden administration's efforts against Governor Glenn Youngkin's initiative to update the state's voter registration lists.
Hans von Spakovsky, who manages Heritage’s Election Law Reform Initiative and is a senior legal fellow, expressed his views on the ruling. "This is a significant victory for election integrity," he stated. He criticized the Department of Justice for its lawsuit against Virginia, which he believes misinterprets the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
According to von Spakovsky, "The DOJ cited a 90-day, pre-election deadline in the NVRA for systematic removal of individuals who have moved. But that doesn’t apply to non-citizens who never should have been eligible to register in the first place and are violating federal criminal law by registering to vote."
He further added that states should see this Supreme Court action as confirmation of their authority to maintain accurate voter rolls. Von Spakovsky also suggested that the Department of Justice should focus on investigating and prosecuting non-citizens rather than compelling states like Virginia to keep them registered.
For additional information on this topic, readers are directed to "The National Voter Registration Act Does Not Prevent States from Removing Aliens from Voter Registration Rolls at Any Time."