Why are Democrats fighting for noncitizen voting rights in court?
The Supreme Court voted 6-3 on Wednesday to uphold Virginia’s removal of approximately 1,600 self-identified noncitizens from its voter rolls. This practice has been in place for years under a law signed by Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine in 2005, sparking a reaction from the media.
The Associated Press reported, “Supreme Court’s conservative justices leave in place Virginia’s purge of voter registrations.” The New York Times headline read, “Supreme Court Allows Virginia to Purge Possibly Ineligible Voters for Now.”
The process relies on information provided by these voters to the state DMV. Some media outlets have expressed concerns about the lawless actions of the conservative majority on the court, prompting questions about the dissenting justices.
Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias was involved in defending noncitizen voting rights in court. However, the process does not disenfranchise anyone, as Virginia allows in-person voter registration up to Election Day and immediate submission of a provisional ballot if wrongly purged.
The left’s reaction to voting security measures has become increasingly hysterical, viewing once non-controversial practices as right-wing voter suppression.