Photo: Alamy
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday to allow Virginia to remove noncitizens from its voter rolls before the election.
The ruling blocked a federal judge’s recent decision against the effort that required 1,600 voters restored to the rolls.
“I am pleased to announce that the US Supreme Court granted Virginia’s emergency stay to keep noncitizens off our voter rolls,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares wrote on X Wednesday after the 6-3 announcement.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles blocked the move led by Virginia Republicans on Friday. Miyares filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court on Sunday after the state’s highest court upheld the decision.
“It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter,” said Miyares in a statement last week.
“Yet, today a Court – urged by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice – ordered Virginia to put the names of non-citizens back on the voter rolls, mere days before a presidential election. The Department of Justice pulled this shameful, politically motivated stunt 25 days before Election Day, challenging a Virginia process signed into law 18 years ago by a Democrat governor and approved by the Department of Justice in 2006,” he added.
“More concerning is the open practice by the Biden-Harris administration to weaponize the legal system against the enemies of so-called progress. That is the definition of lawfare. To openly choose weaponization over good process and lawfare over integrity isn’t democracy: it’s bullying, pure and simple, and I always stand up to bullies,” he continued.
The three opposing justices included Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson was appointed to the court by President Joe Biden.
President Donald Trump spoke out on the issue last week in a lengthy post to his Truth Social account.
“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,” he wrote.
“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!” Trump added.
