Virginia cannot systematically remove voters whom they suspect are noncitizens because the removal likely violates federal law with the upcoming election approaching, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Oct. 27.
The National Voter Registration Act contains a provision that requires states to halt “any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters” within 90 days of a federal election. Virginia officials argued that the provision does not cover noncitizens because they are never “voters.”
“That argument violates basic principles of statutory construction by focusing on a differently worded statutory provision that is not at issue here and proposing a strained reading of the Quiet Period Provision to avoid rendering that other provision absurd or unconstitutional,” the new ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said….