VICTORY UPDATE: ACLJ Files Amicus Brief at Supreme Court Defending Election Integrity After Biden-Harris Administration Tried To Keep Noncitizens on Voter Rolls

The ACLJ has filed a major amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court to defend election integrity and the right of states to ensure that noncitizens cannot illegally vote. The state of Virginia is appealing to the Supreme Court to stop the Biden-Harris Administration’s blatant election interference to keep noncitizens on the state’s voting rolls. We have filed our brief supporting Virginia and its right to protect elections from people who have admitted on official records that they are not citizens.

We told you that Governor Glenn Youngkin, adhering to the guidelines of a 2006 law signed by then-Governor Tim Kaine, carried out an Executive order to routinely remove noncitizens from his state’s voting rolls.

Because he followed the law, Gov. Youngkin found himself being sued by the Biden-Harris Administration. The DOJ is arguing that the governor’s method of removing the noncitizens violated the National Voter Registration Act [NVRA], which says systematic removals cannot occur within 90 days of an election.

Then last Friday, a federal judge ordered that Virginia must restore the illegal immigrants back to the voting rolls. Virginia followed up by appealing to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, but the federal appeals court upheld the judge’s order.

Now Virginia is filing an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. With just . . . days until Election Day, the ACLJ is working in overdrive to file an amicus brief at the high Court in support of the state.

Election integrity is at stake in Virginia. That’s why the ACLJ got involved immediately to ensure that only American citizens cast a vote. Virginia is fulfilling its responsibility to maintain election integrity by verifying people’s affirmative assertions that they are not citizens and removing these self-identified noncitizens from the voter rolls.

Our brief argues that Virginia is individually assessing voters for removal when those individuals provide information to the state that they are not citizens. This is not illegal under federal law, nor could it be. Virginia is fulfilling its constitutional responsibility and authority to protect and enforce election qualifications. Our brief explained:

[T]his Court need only assess whether Virginia is conducting an individualized assessment of the voters. And by the United States’ own admission, Virginia’s assessment is only triggered when “a person indicated on certain forms submitted to the DMV that the person is not a U.S. Citizen.” Id. at 15. Only on the basis of an individualized assessment as a result of individual information that has been received from the voter themselves, does Virginia take any action. Nothing more is required.

The United States did not attempt to explain why an individual’s specific affirmative statement that he or she is not a citizen does not satisfy the requirement for individualized information. As a simple matter of common sense, an individual’s statement directly to the government telling the government that he or she is not a citizen provides individual information of the very kind the cases have recognized. The NVRA does not prohibit states from protecting elections by individual assessments because of information received from particular voters. Any removal that does occur relies upon the registrant’s own information, and the NVRA contains no prohibition against protecting the voter rolls by such individualized assessments.

Our brief urged the Supreme Court to immediately stay the district court’s order so Virginia can once again protect its elections.

At the ACLJ, we’re dedicated to defending your right to vote and the integrity of our elections. If states cannot protect their ballots from noncitizens, their constitutional right and responsibility to protect elections is threatened. If the NVRA were to apply so broadly as to prevent the removal of individuals based on information they provide that they are not citizens, it would raise serious constitutional concerns and threaten the right of states to determine election qualifications.

We will continue to file in other cases to ensure the integrity of this critical election is upheld. If you have had your right to vote violated or have witnessed voter fraud, please contact us at ACLJ.org/ElectionHotline.

UPDATE 10.30.2024: In an order issued this morning in Virginia’s emergency appeal, the United States Supreme Court just handed Virginia and election integrity a major win. In its 6-3 ruling, the majority ruled exactly as we had requested in our brief filed just yesterday. The order stated in part: “The application for stay presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted.” This means the lower courts’ rulings are frozen until a merits decision can be reached, and given the short window between now and the election, it seems unlikely Biden’s DOJ is even capable of obtaining any kind of final ruling in time to complete its election interference efforts in Virginia. Here’s the bottom line: Virginia can now remove noncitizens from the voter rolls before Election Day. We will continue following this case and are preparing to file in others to ensure the integrity of this election is protected.