Virginia may remove non-citizens from its voter rolls after the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of a lower court’s injunction. Attorney General Ken Paxton joined attorneys general from 25 States to file an amicus brief supporting Virginia’s authority to remove the noncitizens and secure its elections.
On October 11, the U.S. Department of Justice sued to stop Virginia from removing self-identified noncitizens from the State’s voter rolls. Noncitizens are ineligible to vote in American elections and it is a federal crime for them to register to vote or attempt to cast a ballot. A federal judge preliminarily enjoined Virginia from removing these illegally registered noncitizens on October 25.
The multistate brief argued that the preliminary injunction undermines States’ Constitutionally-granted authority to determine voter qualifications and ensure election integrity by ensuring that only eligible U.S. citizens vote. The lawfare launched by the federal government interferes with States’ sovereign obligations to determine voter eligibility and to administer elections. Attorney General Paxton and the cosigning attorneys general urged the Supreme Court to overturn the injunction and permit Virginia to steward voter rolls appropriately to prevent noncitizens from influencing American elections.
Now, the Supreme Court has granted Virginia’s application for a stay, blocking the lower court’s injunction and enabling Virginia to remove the self-identified noncitizens.
“The Biden-Harris Administration sued Virginia to force them to put noncitizens back on the voter rolls while the Election is already under way. It is not only a federal crime for noncitizens to vote but for them to even register to vote in the first place,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The Biden-Harris Administration’s legal meddling was irresponsible, reckless, and political. States have a constitutional duty to prevent noncitizens from voting. The Supreme Court did the right thing.”
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