Virginia Removes 6,303 Noncitizens from Voter Rolls

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An executive order from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed 6,303 noncitizens from the voting rolls, who he said “accidentally or maliciously attempted to register” to vote.

Youngkin, in an interview with Fox 5 DC, said he was not suggesting there is widespread voter fraud in Virginia.

“Call me crazy, but I think American elections should be decided by American citizens,” Youngkin said in another interview.

The governor’s executive issue, issued Aug. 7, didn’t say if any of the people removed from the voters actually voted or if there was an error and they turned out to be citizens, NBC News reported.

Virginia officials told NBC News that noncitizens end up on the voter rolls due to errors made when people fill out paper or online forms or when they respond to a question about citizenship on a touchpad device at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Everyone removed from the voter roll in Virginia was given 14 days to demonstrate citizenship, Youngkin’s press secretary Christian Martinez told NBC News. Voting, civil, and immigrant rights group have called on the governor to be more transparent about why people were removed from voter rolls.

“I would be curious to know why they are choosing to do this now, before the November election. It sounds like they are pushing this fraud message,” said Jossie Flor Sapunar, spokesperson for CASA, a national advocacy group for immigrants to NBC News.

Virginians are asked if they want to register to vote on DMV forms. The state requires people to provide their Social Security numbers, proof of identity, and legal presence when registering, according to Youngkin’s order. Voter registration begins at the DMV and is completed at the Virginia Elections Department, a spokesperson told NBC News.

When Virginia residents who aren’t U.S. citizens go to the DMV to apply for a license, they have to provide identifying documents including proof of residence. Youngkin’s order requires lists of people who have said they’re not citizens to be turned over daily to the Elections Department, NBC News reported.

The Virginia DMV then checks a person’s proof of identity and “legal presence” with the Social Security Administration, according to Youngkin’s order. The order also calls for using the Department of Homeland Security’s system, SAVE, which verifies the status of immigrants.

Errors in the DHS system have led to people being wrongly removed from voter rolls, NBC News said.

Virginia has same-day registration, so people mistakenly removed from voter rolls who are citizens can show up, affirm they are a citizens and vote, NBC News reported.

In October, election officials under Youngkin removed nearly 3,400 legal Virginia voters from the rolls, after misclassifying probation violators as felons, NBC News reported.