In a recent interview with Jake Tapper, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin expressed his strong disapproval of the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) for suing the state over what the administration has termed a "systemic" removal of non-citizen voters in close proximity to the election.
Youngkin defended the state's law, which has been in place since 2006, mandating the continual removal of such voters.
As reported by The Post Millennial, Tapper accused Virginia of "purging voters that were flagged as potential non-citizens" within the critical 90-day period leading up to the election. Youngkin countered, explaining that the law, which has been in effect since 2006, is designed to remove individuals from voter rolls who "self-identify as a non-citizen." He emphasized that this process has been consistently implemented, even under Democratic governors, who have also removed ineligible voters within the 90-day pre-election period.
Youngkin posed a rhetorical question to Tapper, asking, "Do you think that non-citizens, when they've self-identified as a non-citizen, should stay on the voter roll and therefore be in a position to potentially vote in a presidential election?" He continued, "They actually tick a box that says I am a non-citizen, or they do not answer the question, that they are a citizen and therefore they self-identify, that they are not a citizen in the United States of America. And this is why this is so out of bounds in my mind from the Justice Department."
The Governor expressed his astonishment at the timing of the DOJ's lawsuit, stating, "It's stunning that they filed this suit 25 days before a presidential election, when in fact, this has been going on in accordance with our Constitution, the federal Constitution and state law since 2006."
The DOJ's lawsuit against Virginia last week was based on the state's practice of daily updates to the voter rolls, where new voters are added and non-citizens, as well as deceased individuals, are removed. The DOJ referenced Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which prohibits a state from "systematically removing the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters" less than 90 days before a federal primary or general election.
However, under Virginia code, 24.2-404, the Department of Elections is required to maintain a continuous record-keeping system for "all voters registered in the Commonwealth" of Virginia. This includes an annual review that has been mandatory since June 30, 2006. To uphold this continuously updated list of registered voters, the elections department must "delete from the record of registered voters the name of any voter who ... is known not to be a United States citizen."
This law is triggered when a non-citizen self-identifies as such during their DMV voter registration process. The state of Virginia is then legally obligated to remove them from the rolls within 30 days. This process was also utilized in the lead-up to the 2020 election, with "802 voters cancelled after declaring themselves 'non-citizen' within the DMV process," from September 1, 2019 August 31, 2020, according to a previous annual report. This cancellation period fell within the controversial 90-day window of the 2020 election.
Governor Youngkin's defense of Virginia's voter roll practices underscores the importance of upholding state laws and the Constitution, even in the face of federal scrutiny. His commitment to ensuring only eligible citizens vote in elections aligns with conservative values of individual freedom, limited government, and adherence to the rule of law.
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