A federal judge today has issued an insane order for Governor Youngkin to put 1,600 self-identified non-citizens back on the Virginia voter rolls so that they can vote in this upcoming election.
Here’s the news via WRIC:
A federal judge has ordered Virginia to put more than 1,600 people back on the state’s voter rolls after they were recently removed under a state program that the Justice Department and advocates say illegally took them off too close to the election.
Lawsuits from the Justice Department and advocacy groups allege that part of an executive order from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin systematically removes alleged noncitizens from the rolls too soon to the Nov. 5 presidential election in violation of federal law.
The law — the National Voter Registration Act — requires Virginia and other states to stop systematically removing the names of ineligible voters from the rolls within 90 days of the election, known as a “quiet period,” to avoid errors that could take eligible voters off the rolls.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles, who was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D), found Virginia’s system was systematic, not on an individual basis as Youngkin’s administration has contended, and ordered Virginia to reinstate those removed during the 90-day quiet period to the voter rolls.
Governor Youngkin is incensed by this and will appeal it, saying his order came before the 90 days and doesn’t violate federal or state law:
Gov. Youngkin’s office has argued his Aug. 7 order requiring daily updates to voter lists to remove ineligible voters – which came 90 days before the Nov. 5 election – doesn’t violate the law and enforces a 2006 state law signed by Virginia’s then-Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine.
“Let’s be clear about what just happened: only eleven days before a Presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals–who self-identified themselves as noncitizens–back onto the voter rolls,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Almost all these individuals had previously presented immigration documents confirming their noncitizen status, a fact recently verified by federal authorities.”
Youngkin added that “Virginia will immediately petition the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and, if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court, for an emergency stay of the injunction.”
President Trump responded to this ruling by this federal judge by calling it an “illegal order” and an “unacceptable travesty”:
Sleepy Joe Biden and Comrade Kamala Harris ridiculously accuse me of wanting to “weaponize” the Justice Department, when they have done all of the weaponizing. Now, their truly Weaponized Department of “Injustice,” and a Judge (appointed by Joe), have ORDERED the Great Commonwealth of Virginia to PUT NON-CITIZEN VOTERS BACK ON THE ROLLS. This is a totally unacceptable travesty, and Governor Youngkin is absolutely right to appeal this ILLEGAL ORDER, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hopefully fix it! Only U.S. Citizens should be allowed to vote. Keep fighting, Glenn – AND REPUBLICANS IN VIRGINIA, KEEP VOTING EARLY!
I ultimately believe that Youngkin will prevail and hopefully his appeal will, at the very least, stop this from happening before the election. It’s insane to put noncitizens back on the voter rolls, period.