WASHINGTON, D.C., October 30, 2024 – This morning the Supreme Court issued an order from its shadow docket allowing the commonwealth of Virginia to proceed with its voter roll purge targeting noncitizens. This is despite the fact that there is evidence that citizens who are qualified to vote have already been caught up in the purge.
This is also despite the fact that the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 specifically states: “A State shall complete, not later than 90 days prior to the date of a primary or general election for Federal office, any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters.” Virginia is clearly in violation of this law by engaging in a voter purge mere weeks before the election.
Alliance for Justice Interim Co-President Keith Thirion issued the following statement:
“The right to vote is fundamental to a free and fair democracy, allowing citizens to have a direct say in who is writing the laws that shape our lives. Yet this Supreme Court is allowing the commonwealth of Virginia to blatantly violate federal law. The Court’s conservative majority is apparently fine with stripping voters of this constitutional right. This egregiously biased opinion is reminiscent of the Court’s willingness to implement Texas’s anti-abortion vigilante law even while Roe was still the law of the land. The Court has already upended norms inherent to a constitutional democracy and the rule of law, including dismantling much of the Voting Rights Act through judicial fiat, and it is apparently ready to do the same with the National Voter Registration Act.
“We deserve free and fair elections where voters who are qualified and registered to vote should be able to cast their ballot without any obstacles. The Supreme Court appears to disagree. What a shameful omen as more election litigation is likely heading its way.”