FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A coalition of immigrant-rights groups and the League of Women Voters in Virginia has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares of an ongoing ''purge'' of voter rolls that will disenfranchise legitimate voters.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, argues that an executive order issued in August by Youngkin requiring daily updates to voter lists to remove ineligible voters violates a federal law that requires a 90-day ''quiet period'' ahead of elections on the maintenance of voter rolls.
The quiet period exists to prevent erroneous removals, the lawsuit states. Virginia's policy of using data from the Department of Motor Vehicles to determine a voter's citizenship and eligibility will surely disenfranchise legitimate voters, the lawsuit alleges, because the DMV data is often inaccurate or outdated.
''Defendants' Purge Program is far from ... a well-designed, well-intended list maintenance effort. It is an illegal, discriminatory, and error-ridden program that has directed the cancelation of voter registrations of naturalized U.S. citizens and jeopardizes the rights of countless others,'' the lawsuit states.
Immigrant citizens are at particular risk, the lawsuit states, because individuals can obtain a driver's license as lawful permanent residents, refugees or asylum applicants, and then later become naturalized citizens. But the data from the Department of Motor Vehicles will still list that individual as a noncitizen.
Christian Martinez, a spokesman for Youngkin, said Virginia is complying with state and federal law.
"Every step in the established list maintenance process is mandated by Virginia law and begins after an individual indicates they are not a citizen. The DMV is mandated by law to send information about individuals who indicate they are a noncitizen in DMV transactions to (the state elections office)," he said. "Anyone spreading misinformation about it is either ignoring Virginia law or is trying to undermine it because they want noncitizens to vote.''
Shaun Kenney, a spokesman for the attorney general, said in an emailed response, ''We feel confident in the position the Department of Elections has taken and stand ready to defend.''