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The U.S. Supreme Court, split along ideological lines, granted an emergency request from Virginia on Wednesday to continue removing suspected noncitizens from its voter rolls, suspending a federal district court order that had previously halted the program. The decision allows Virginia to maintain its voter roll purge just days ahead of a major election, a move opposed by the federal government and advocacy groups who argue it wrongfully strips eligible citizens of their voting rights.

Court Decision Divides Justices, Permits Voter Roll Purge

Without providing specific reasoning, the Supreme Court’s majority approved Virginia's request to override an order from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The lower court's ruling had paused the state's efforts to eliminate “self-identified noncitizens” from its voter rolls and required the state to re-register 1,600 previously removed individuals. Virginia officials argued that the order would compel them to violate state law prohibiting noncitizen voting, while opponents insisted the voter roll purge risked disenfranchising U.S. citizens.

According to advocacy groups and the federal government, Virginia’s voter roll purge inadvertently targeted citizens. These groups argue that keeping purged voters off the rolls contravenes both constitutional protections and the National Voter Registration Act's (NVRA) 90-day “quiet period” rule, which prevents voter removals close to federal elections.

Legal and Political Support for Virginia’s Voter Purge Program

More than half of U.S. states, the Republican National Committee, and a group of former Republican Congress members backed Virginia in its Supreme Court appeal, stressing that the district court order had created confusion leading into Election Day. Kansas and 25 other GOP-led states argued that the NVRA’s 90-day restriction on purging ineligible voters was never intended to include Virginia’s process of removing noncitizens.

The Republican Party also emphasized in its brief that the lower court’s intent to promote voter participation could backfire by undermining confidence in the vote, potentially resulting in the inclusion of ineligible voters. Conversely, the former lawmakers contended that the court's decision to halt Virginia’s voter roll purge was entirely consistent with the NVRA’s intent to prevent disenfranchisement.

DOJ and Advocacy Groups Argue “Quiet Period” Provision Violated

The federal government and advocacy groups maintain that Virginia's program improperly removes voters close to federal elections, directly violating the NVRA’s “quiet period” provision. The statute allows voter removal during this period only for specific reasons, such as death or criminal convictions, rather than systematic purges of potentially eligible voters. Virginia's program relies on state and federal database checks, which opponents argue are based on outdated information, such as old driver’s license records, leading to wrongful purging of naturalized citizens.