Judge sounds inclined to halt Virginia voter purge

A federal judge signaled that she will likely order Virginia to restore about 1,600 people to its voter rolls after the state removed them in the past three months.

Virginia says it has removed people who are not U.S. citizens. But the Justice Department and voting rights groups say that many of the removals may be erroneous — and that trimming the voter rolls so close to Election Day violates federal law.

During several hours of arguments in federal court Thursday, Judge Patricia Giles expressed skepticism about the defenses Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) and other state officials have offered for removing voters during a 90-day, preelection quiet period during which federal law prohibits “systematic” efforts to clean up the voting rolls.

Giles, an appointee of Joe Biden, seemed poised to order the state to stop the systematic removal and to reinstate those who have already been removed during the 90-day window. However, she did not immediately issue a ruling.




https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/10/24/2024-elections-live-coverage-updates-analysis/judges-questions-virginia-voter-purge-00185364