A federal appeals court on Sunday rejected Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin's attempt to reinstate a controversial voter-registration purge, leaving in place a ruling requiring Virginia to restore more than 1,600 registrations just nine days before the presidential election.
The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge's order blocking Virginia's program, which removed people suspected of being noncitizens from the state's voter rolls.
The Justice Department and voting rights organizations challenged the removals, arguing that Virginia violated federal law by conducting systematic voter purges within 90 days of an election.
Federal Law Protects Voters From Last-Minute Purges
The National Voter Registration Act prohibits systematic removal programs during the 90 days preceding a federal election. The restriction is intended to prevent eligible voters from being mistakenly removed without sufficient time to correct errors.
Youngkin announced his initiative on August 7, exactly 90 days before Election Day, directing state agencies to conduct daily checks for suspected noncitizens.
Voting rights advocates argue that the process risks removing legitimate voters, including naturalized American citizens whose government records may contain outdated citizenship information.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ordered Virginia to halt the program and restore the affected registrations.
Youngkin Promises Supreme Court Appeal
Youngkin and Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares maintain that the program is necessary to protect election integrity and prevent noncitizens from voting.
However, federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in presidential elections, and the dispute centers on whether Virginia's removal procedures violate protections for registered voters.
Following Sunday's defeat, Miyares announced that Virginia would immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Former President Donald Trump has also criticized the lower court's ruling, describing it as an illegal order.
The appeals court's decision represents another setback for Republican-backed election restrictions as the November 5 election approaches.
For more than 1,600 affected registrants, the dispute now centers on whether their registrations will remain restored when Americans head to the polls next week.