Youngkin’s office outlines defense against DOJ lawsuit claiming Virginia illegally purging voter rolls

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office is punching back after a Department of Justice lawsuit filed last week claimed Virginia is illegally removing people from the state’s voter rolls less than a month before Election Day.

At issue is whether or not an executive order signed by Youngkin in August directing the Department of Elections to make “daily updates” to the state’s voter rolls and “remove individuals who are unable to verify that they are citizens to the Department of Motor Vehicles” violates a federal law preventing states from systematically removing voters from the voter rolls fewer than 90 days before an election.

“Recognize that, within 90 days before the election, there could be a lot of confusion that goes on and what you don’t want to do is put a roadblock in front of voters who should legitimately be able to vote,” said University of Richmond Law Professor Henry Chambers.

A memo obtained by 8News written by Youngkin’s lawyer Richard Cullen says the order doesn’t violate federal law because Virginia’s process is more individualized and begins with “individuals themselves indicating that they are a noncitizen during a DMV transaction.”

“You can have narrowly tailored specified reasons for knocking folks off the list, that essentially the argument that is being made in the memo,” Chambers told 8News.

The memo also says Virginia has several precautions in case, including sending letters to impacted voters and giving them 14 days to prove they are a citizen before canceling their registration.

“Remember the point of the 90-day quiet period is to say, we are not going to put extra stumbling blocks in the place of voters, so the mere fact that the voter can explain that they should remain on the list may not make a difference,” Chambers said.

The Department of Justice is asking anyone who may have been wrongfully removed from the voter rolls to call them at 1-800-253-3931 or report it online on the DOJ’s internet reporting portal at civilrights.justice.gov .

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