Supreme Court allows Virginia to purge voter rolls ahead of the election

The state's plan flagged people for removal if they check a box on a Department of Motor Vehicles form declaring they are not a citizen or if they leave it blank.

Groups that sued, including the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said the process drew in people who might have indicated they were not citizens at that time but have subsequently become U.S. citizens. Civil rights groups and the Biden administration both provided evidence of U.S. citizens who had likely been removed from the rolls as a result.

"To say this decision is a disappointment is an understatement," said Ryan Snow, an attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, representing the plaintiffs. "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."