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Category Archives: Voter Rights

Virginia Immigrant Rights & Voting Rights Groups Outraged at SCOTUS Decision Allowing Virginia to Disenfranchise Voters

Posted on October 30, 2024 - 11:15 am by

A recording of a press conference on this matter can be found here.

Washington, DC—The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR), the League of Women Voters of Virginia (LWVVA), and African Communities Together (ACT) are disappointed and alarmed the Supreme Court of the United States has allowed Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to wrongfully remove qualified voters from the voting rolls less than one week before a federal election.This misguided ruling allows Virginia to disenfranchise over 1600 eligible Virginia voters based on unreliable data and discriminatory lies.

“Voting is a sacred privilege only afforded to U.S. citizens. Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares’s efforts to target naturalized citizen voters yielded the disenfranchisement of both natural born citizens and naturalized citizens,” Monica Sarmiento, Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said. “We are deeply disappointed that the vicious voting rights attacks from the Governor and Attorney General have been permitted to prevail. It is a dangerous occurrence when lawful U.S. citizens are carelessly removed from the voter rolls. Although we did not win this battle, VACIR will continue to fight for the right of eligible U.S. citizens to vote.”

“This ruling is devastating for Virginia voters, effectively allowing eligible voters to be stripped of their fundamental rights just before a federal election,” said Joan Porte, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia. “By permitting these voter purges, the court jeopardizes the integrity of our elections and silences the voices of voters. The League of Women Voters of Virginia will continue to fight for voters across our state and advocate pro-voter policies to ensure our democracy is fair for everyone.”

“Today’s ruling is not only a disappointment but it further validates the attacks on voter rights across the country at a critical time for our country, when the voices of our communities are being drowned out by racist and xenophobic rhetoric,” Solomon Ayalew, DMV Chapter Director of African Communities Together, said. “ACT will continue to fight for the rights of voters and do everything we can to ensure naturalized citizens, who have had their right to vote challenged and have been casualties in this systematic removal, are heard.”

“The League is incredibly disappointed in this decision,” said Caren Short, director of legal and research at the League of Women Voters of the United States. “The Supreme Court should protect voters from disenfranchisement, but instead they are allowing an illegal purge of eligible voters days before a federal election. Every voter has the fundamental right to participate in our democracy, and this ruling allows that fundamental right to be stripped away based on xenophobic lies. The League of Women Voters will never cease in our fight to protect the rights of all voters.”

“The ruling today is disappointing and a loss for eligible voters, and only underscores the fact that a major political movement has invested so much in a dangerous strategy to discredit and undermine our electoral process,” Anna Dorman, Counsel at Protect Democracy, said. “We’re watching the harms incurred by that strategy play out right now in realtime in states across the U.S., as thousands of eligible voters’ right to participate in our democracy is being questioned and is in limbo.”

“To say this decision is a disappointment is an understatement. The Supreme Court just ignored a key provision of the National Voter Registration Act and the clear fact that Virginia purged eligible voters on the eve of the election,” said Ryan Snow, counsel with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “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. The decision to block the district court’s order stopping this purge is a blow to the many eligible Virginian voters who were unlawfully purged and will now face uncertainty about their ability to cast a ballot that will be counted.”

“The Supreme Court allowing Virginia to engage in a last-minute purge that includes many known eligible citizens in the final days before an election is outrageous,” said Danielle Lang, Campaign Legal Center’s Senior Director on Voting Rights. “But the voters will decide this election, not the courts, and CLC will continue to fight alongside Virginians to ensure that they are able to participate in our democracy. Eligible Virginia voters should know that regardless of this purge they can register to vote on Election Day and cast their ballots.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling today is a huge loss for Virginia voters. The court’s decision allows the last-minute illegal purging of eligible voters who are now at risk of being disenfranchised in Tuesday’s election.” said John Powers, Director of the Power and Democracy Program at Advancement Project. “Ensuring that every eligible voter can vote is a bedrock of our democracy. We will continue to fight for free, fair, and accessible elections for every voter.”

The state of Virginia allows voters to register at their polling place. Voters in Virginia who find themselves removed from the rolls should re-register at their polling place when they go to cast their ballot. Voters can learn more and check their registration at VOTE411.org.

Any voters with questions, including on how to use Virginia’s Same Day Registration process, should call or text the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE, or call one of the bilingual Election Protection hotlines at 888-VE-Y-VOTA (Spanish); 844-YALLA-US (Arabic); or 888-API-VOTE (Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese).

Background:

VACIR, LWVVA, and ACT filed their response to Virginia’s application for a stay on October 29, 2024. Read the brief here. Learn more about the case here.

Former members of Congress also filed an amicus brief against the voter purge, saying “the daily systematic removal program recently undertaken by Applicants is precisely what the NVRA’s Quiet Period Provision forbids. It is not a close case; it is instead a paradigmatic violation of Congress’s design.”

The lawsuit called on the court to do the following:

  • Declare the Purge Program violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
  • Order Defendants to stop the Purge Program
  • Order Defendants to instruct local officials to reinstate to the voter rolls anyone removed through the Purge Program, except those who confirmed they are not a citizen, and ensure they can cast a regular ballot
  • Order Defendants to notify affected voters that they remain registered and can cast a regular ballot if they are eligible.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its own lawsuit on October 11, alleging Virginia’s Purge Program is systematically removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act. 

Voting Rights Advocates and Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights To Host Virtual Press Conference after SCOTUS Ruling on Youngkin Voter Purge

Posted on October 30, 2024 - 10:47 am by

Press Advisory: Voting Rights Advocates and Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights To Host Virtual Press Conference after SCOTUS Ruling on Youngkin Voter Purge

Virginia—The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, the League of Women Voters Virginia, and African Communities Together are anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court of the United States to rule on the VACIR v. Beals appeal. Two lower courts ruled that Executive Order 35 was an illegal voter purge and that voters must be reinstated to the voting rolls, but the Supreme Court will have the final say on appeal. When the ruling comes down, the plaintiffs will host a press conference to discuss the ruling and next steps.

What: A virtual press conference to discuss Governor Glenn Youngkin’s purge of voters immediately before an election

Who:

  • Monica Sarmiento, Plaintiff and Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights
  • Joan Porte, Plaintiff and President of the League of Women Voters Virginia
  • Bert Bayou, Plaintiff and  Deputy Executive Director for Organizing and Member Engagement at African Communities Together
  • Representatives from The Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Campaign Legal Center, the Protect Democracy Project, and Advancement Project.

When: 12:00pm Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Where: Virtually over Zoom, register here

Why: We all cherish our freedoms, including the essential right to vote and have our votes accurately counted. But election deniers who previously spread lies about our elections and incited the violence on January 6th continue to mislead the public, even though rigorous safeguards already ensure only eligible Americans can vote. These falsehoods are part of a broader strategy of anti-voter actors to distract us from the real issues facing our families. They are trying to undermine confidence in our elections, so they can create unnecessary barriers to voting and attempt to overturn election results if they lose. We will continue to work to ensure that all of us can make our voices heard in this election.

Youngkin Administration Must Stop Illegal Voter Purges, Court Rules

Posted on October 25, 2024 - 11:02 am by
The U.S. Eastern District Courthouse in Alexandria, VA

Alexandria, Virginia—Today, a judge in the United States Eastern District Court in Alexandria has ruled that the Youngkin administration must cease purging immigrant voters ahead of the 2024 election.  VACIR vs. Beals challenged a policy that was the result of Executive Order 35, signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin on August 7, 2024. The policy would have required state and local election officials to remove individuals from the state voter registration list if Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records do not indicate U.S. citizenship. However, as the complaint explains, Virginia drivers’ licenses are available to non-citizens and can remain valid for up to eight years, meaning people who obtained driver’s licenses as non-citizens, who then subsequently became U.S. citizens, and lawfully registered to vote are being unlawfully purged from the voter rolls based on outdated DMV information. The lawsuit was brought by the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, the League of Women Voters Virginia, and African Communities Together. Both the cases brought by the private plaintiffs and the case brought by the Department of Justice were consolidated and heard together by the courts.

“Today, the court recognized that federal law protects voters from last-minute removals from the voter rolls,” said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project. “Ultimately, Virginia’s desperate attempt to undermine the will of the people and sow distrust in our elections was foiled. In an effort to feed false anti-immigrant tropes, citizens, disproportionately voters of color, have been wrongly removed from the voter rolls, and they must be restored.”

“Today, naturalized citizens, including the over 85,000 registered African voters in Virginia, have had their voices heard,” said Gigi Traore, National Civic Engagement Director at African Communities Together. “The ruling returns access to the ballot box back to voters, allowing them to exercise their fundamental right to vote”

“Today’s injunction on Executive Order 35 is an essential step to have fair and just elections that will permit naturalized citizens to cast their vote in our federal elections without the unfair burden of being forced to re-register,” said Jorge Figueredo at Edu-Futuro, a member of the VACIR Executive Board. “We at VACIR want to applaud the representation from The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Campaign Legal Center, the Protect Democracy Project, and Advancement Project for defending the right to vote for naturalized citizens in our Commonwealth. Our deepest gratitude goes to those U.S. citizens who bravely shared their stories with the court of having their right to vote be disenfranchised by Executive Order 35.”

Background: 

Full text of VACIR vs. Beals

A recording of the press conference held by voting rights advocates in advance of the decision can be found here using the password %8Cw&6Tj.

The lawsuit calls on the court to do the following:

  • Declare the Purge Program violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
  • Order Defendants to stop the Purge Program
  • Order Defendants to instruct local officials to reinstate to the voter rolls anyone removed through the Purge Program, except those who confirmed they are not a citizen, and ensure they can cast a regular ballot
  • Order Defendants to notify affected voters that they remain registered and can cast a regular ballot if they are eligible.
  • The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its own lawsuit on October 11, alleging Virginia’s Purge Program is systematically removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election.

Voting Rights Advocates Call on Virginia to Reinstate Purged Voters Ahead of Election Day

Posted on October 23, 2024 - 11:57 am by

A recording of the press conference can be found here using the password %8Cw&6Tj. 

Alexandria, Virginia—Tomorrow, there will be a hearing in the lawsuit brought by the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, the League of Women Voters Virginia, and African Communities Together against the Youngkin Administration for illegally purging voters. In advance of the hearing, voting rights advocates hosted a press conference calling on the courts to promptly restore the voter registrations of those voters who have been purged from the voting rolls so that they can make their voices heard in our elections.

“So far, within the 90 days, we have identified 15 of our members with a history of voting who have been purged from the voter rolls and had their access to the ballot box blocked,” Gigi Traore, Civic Engagement Director at African Communities Together, said. “We stand together with the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights and the League of Women Voters Virginia to reclaim the right to the ballot box. We are demanding that the dream we have fought for be returned to us as full and rightful citizens.” 

“All over the country, people who want to create confusion and sew the seeds of doubt in the integrity of our election system are hiding behind false fears and overhyped claims about voter fraud in order to do what they say they are opposing: they are taking the vote away from U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote,” Mohamed Gula, VACIR Board Chair and EMGAGE Virginia State Director, said. “Those of us on this call today are uniting together to say enough. Enough of the fear-mongering against migrants. Enough of the rhetoric that is undermining our democracy. Enough of the distractions from critical issues facing our communities, both immigrant and native, citizens and non-citizens in the Commonwealth, and enough of leaders ignoring the real issues facing Virginians. We can and must come together and ensure that the public knows that our elections are free and fair and that we do not need to take steps to take the vote away from citizens in order to fix something that is not broken.”

“The purge process is a violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which was a bipartisan bill intended to prevent the erroneous, wrongful removal of eligible voters during the 90-day period before an election. Congress recognized that these types of purge programs are likely to remove some eligible voters and doing that this close to an election will make it that much harder for these voters to cast a ballot and have their lawful vote counted,” Ryan Snow, Counsel at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said. “We have learned that over 1600 voters have been removed from the rolls, and 75 voter registration applications have been denied within the 90-day window because of this purge program. A large portion of these voters are eligible. This is a deliberate and unlawful purge on the eve of an election. These voters and community members have been intimidated by receiving removal notices. The threat of investigation and criminal prosecution is extremely intimidating for lawful voters who have fought for the right to vote, have dreamed and achieved their goal of becoming a US citizen and are now part of our communities and want to participate in the civic proces.”

“The important question to ask is why? Why are politicians trying to deceive the American people when we know that our elections are safe and secure and only eligible voters are participating,” Anna Dorman, Counsel at Protect Democracy, asked. “This campaign of lies is drawn straight from the pretty traditional authoritarian playbook used to disrupt and ultimately deny election results that they don’t like. The authoritarian movement in our country has repeatedly telegraphed that the plan is to use these lies as a pretext to suggest that the election results are not trustworthy, allowing the movement to undermine and challenge the results of our election in November.”

Background: 

The lawsuit calls on the court to do the following:

  • Declare the Purge Program violates the National Voting Rights Act of 1993
  • Order Defendants to stop the Purge Program
  • Order Defendants to instruct local officials to reinstate to the voter rolls anyone removed through the Purge Program, except those who confirmed they are not a citizen, and ensure they can cast a regular ballot 
  • Order Defendants to notify affected voters that they remain registered and can cast a regular ballot if they are eligible.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its own lawsuit on October 11, alleging Virginia’s Purge Program is systematically removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election.

Voting Rights Advocates and Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights To Discuss Governor Youngkin’s Purge of Rightful Voters in Virtual Press Conference

Posted on October 21, 2024 - 12:23 pm by

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Contact: Kelsey Cowger, kelsey@progressva.org, 434-484-2795

Press Advisory: Virginia—The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR) and the League of Women Voters Virginia and African Communities Together (ACT) have filed a lawsuit against the Youngkin Administration for purging voters illegally. In advance of the hearing Thursday in Alexandria, they will host a press conference to discuss why it is of critical importance that the courts to restore the voter registrations of those who have been purged from the voting rolls so that they can legally make their voices heard in our elections.

What: A virtual press conference to discuss Governor Glenn Youngkin’s purge of voters immediately before an election

Who: Monica Sarmiento, Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights

Mohamed Gula, Board Chair of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights and National

Organizing Director of Emgage Virginia

Joan Porte, President of the League of Women Voters Virginia

Gigi Traore, Civic Engagement Director at African Communities Together

Ryan Snow, Counsel at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Anna Dorman, Counsel at Protect Democracy

Michelle Moffit, Director of Partnerships and Data at the Virginia Civic Engagement Table

Beatriz Amberman, Board Chair of VACOLAO

Member of Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy

When: 10:30 am on Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Where: Virtually over Zoom, register here

Why: We all cherish our freedoms, including the essential right to vote and have our votes accurately counted. But election deniers who previously spread lies about our elections and incited the violence on January 6th continue to mislead the public, even though rigorous safeguards already ensure only eligible Americans can vote. These falsehoods are part of a broader strategy of anti-voter actors to distract us from the real issues facing our families. They are trying to undermine confidence in our elections, so they can create unnecessary barriers to voting and attempt to overturn election results if they lose. We will continue to work to ensure that all of us can make our voices heard in this election.

Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights and League of Women Voters Sue Youngkin Administration Over Voter Purges

Posted on October 14, 2024 - 4:10 pm by

Alexandria, Virginia—The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR) and the League of Women Voters Virginia have filed a lawsuit against the Youngkin Administration for purging voters illegally. They are calling on the courts to restore the voter registrations of those who have been purged from the voting rolls so that they can legally make their voices heard in our elections. 

 

“Naturalized citizens serve in our armed forces, pay taxes, and show their patriotism daily with their acts and contributions to our society. This attack against the voting rights of naturalized citizens is a vicious attack against our democracy,” Monica Sarmiento, Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said. “Forcing new American communities to to carry undue burden that no other community is required to comply with is discrimination, and does not stand for the values that our Commonwealth and country stands for. We demand the immediate dissolution of Executive Order 35, and for Governor Youngkin to stand in support and comply with the 1993 National Voting Rights Act.”

 

Newly Filed Lawsuit Accuses Youngkin of Removing Voters from Rolls with Executive Order

WSET, Robert Locklear 

 

On October 7,the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights and the League of Women Voters of Virginia filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging ” the state’s policy of illegally and systematically removing voters from the rolls.” 

“Virginia driver’s licenses are available to non-citizens and can remain valid for up to eight years, meaning people who obtained driver’s licenses as non-citizens, subsequently became US citizens, and lawfully registered to vote are being unlawfully purged from the voter rolls based on outdated DMV information,” the statement says.

“We are proud to stand up for voters today against the Governor’s illegal purging of registered voters based on flawed and outdated information,” said Joan Porte, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia. “Instead of making our elections safer, power-hungry elected officials are sowing fear and distrust in our election. Virginians need to know that the League will ensure that all eligible voters can have their voice heard at the ballot box.”

Lawsuit Says Virginia is Illegally Purging Legitimate Voters Off the Rolls NBC Washington Matthew Barakat 

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, argues that an executive order issued in August by Youngkin requiring daily updates to voter lists to remove ineligible voters violates a federal law that requires a 90-day “quiet period” ahead of elections on the maintenance of voter rolls.The quiet period exists to prevent erroneous removals, the lawsuit states.

“Defendants’ Purge Program is far from … a well-designed, well-intended list maintenance effort. It is an illegal, discriminatory, and error-ridden program that has directed the cancelation of voter registrations of naturalized U.S. citizens and jeopardizes the rights of countless others,” the lawsuit states.

Immigrant citizens are at particular risk, the lawsuit states, because individuals can obtain a driver’s license as lawful permanent residents, refugees or asylum applicants, and then later become naturalized citizens. But the data from the Department of Motor Vehicles will still list that individual as a noncitizen.

It’s not clear how many voters have been removed as a result of the executive order. The lawsuit alleges that the Virginia Department of Elections has refused to provide data about its efforts. Youngkin’s executive order states that Virginia removed 6,303 voters from the rolls between January 2022 and July 2023 over citizenship questions.

According to the minutes, the elections office received data about 66 voters who were deemed likely noncitizens. The data came from both the state elections office and from an “Election Integrity Task Force” affiliated with the Fairfax County Republican Committee. The county registrar said that the elections office sent notices to all 66, and gave them 14 days to verify their citizenship and eligibility. Of those, 17 responded and were kept on the rolls. The other 49 were removed, and had their names forwarded to the commonwealth’s attorney and the Virginia attorney general’s office for potential prosecution.

The lawsuit says the Fairfax removals, as well as other local actions, show that legitimate voters are being improperly removed if they don’t respond within the 14-day window provided to them.

Orion Danjuma, a lawyer with The Protect Democracy Project, one of the legal groups that filed the lawsuit on the plaintiffs’ behalf, said what’s occurring in Virginia is part of a national effort by supporters of former President Donald Trump to sow doubts about election integrity and delegitimize the results if Trump loses in November.

The lawsuit asks a judge to bar the state from removing voters under what it describes as the state’s “purge program,” and restoration to the voter rolls of those who have been removed as a result of it.