Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin said Wednesday the Republican Party needs to take the House and the Senate so it can change voter registration laws nationwide.
The governor was reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling allowing Virginia to continue with a program seeking to remove around 1,600 registered voters who are allegedly noncitizens.
Virginia’s program was put on hold after voting rights groups and the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state.
Younkin told Fox News that he was “incredibly pleased” with the Supreme Court‘s decision, which he said was common sense.
“Common sense says noncitizens should not be on the voter roll,” he said. “Speaker Johnson’s advocacy for a national law to demonstrate that you are a citizen before you are allowed to vote is critical.”
“I do hope that America will extend our majority in the House, flip the Senate and put Donald Trump back in the White House, for lots of reasons, one of which is we need federal legislation to make it very clear on what it takes to register to vote in an election,” he added.
Potential young voters get information at a voter registration desk at Voter Fest 2024, an event designed to engage young voters and historically underserved communities on October 22, 2024 at Cal State Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin wants to see national legislation on who can register to vote.
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What is Virginia’s voter registration purge program?
Virginia moved to purge 1,600 people who were suspected of being non-citizens from voter roles, sparking a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice over its efforts to remove voters less than 90 days before Election Day.
The state’s plan marked individuals for removal if they either checked a box on a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) form indicating they are not citizens, or if they left that box blank. State officials said that any flagged voter received a notice and had two weeks to contest the disqualification.
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles sided with the Justice Department, ruling that Virginia had to re-register the people who had been removed from voter rolls. Virginia asked that the ruling be paused pending appeal, but the judge refused, putting the ruling into effect immediately.
Youngkin had promised to appeal, while immigrant advocacy groups welcomed the district court’s ruling as a victory for naturalized citizens, some of whom had been removed from rolls as a result of the governor’s directive.
A woman votes on the first day of Virginia’s in-person early voting at Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center on September 20, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia.
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What did the Supreme Court recently rule on Virginia’s voter rules?
In a 6-3 vote on Wednesday, split along ideological lines, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that the program to remove the 1,600 residents could continue. The order came two days after Virginia’s Republican attorney general filed an appeal.
Those fighting the program were left disappointed, claiming that eligible voters would be blocked from having their voices heard on Election Day.
“The list of purged voters includes both new citizens and people born in the U.S., all of whom have the same sacred right to vote,” Ryan Snow, Counsel for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in an emailed statement.
“Just the other day, I spoke with a voter who became a citizen and registered to vote 30 years ago and had voted in every election since then without a problem. Now, suddenly, he’s no longer registered,” Snow said.
“This is a true injustice,” he added. “He didn’t even get a cancellation notice so it was a complete surprise to him when he checked his registration online and it didn’t show up.”
How does Youngkin want to change voter registration rules nationally?
Younkin argued on Fox News that his fight was about constitutionality and protecting the voices of those who were eligible to vote.
He said national legislation was needed to ensure noncitizens could not vote in elections moving forward.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news conference following a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on September 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. His plan to extend government funding for six months which included the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), which requires voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship at the time of registration, was facing opposition from key Republicans, jeopardizing its chances as concerns about military readiness and fiscal impacts begin to surface.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson introduced a bill in June 2024 which included a requirement for ID proving citizenship, in order to register to vote in federal elections.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) was later withdrawn, but Johnson promised to continue the work.
Noncitizens are already prevented from voting in federal elections under multiple federal laws, introduced in 1993, 1996 and 2002, while voting in state and local elections is also restricted under some national and local legislation.
Requirements in place include asking those applying for a driver’s license with the DMV to declare if they are a citizen or not, as well as requiring a Social Security Number from those registering to vote.
Different municipalities allow some noncitizens, such as permanent residents, to vote on local issues.
