Voter purge lawsuits add to disenfranchisement allegations against Youngkin administration
Long before becoming a lawyer, state lawmaker and Virginia’s first Black House Speaker, Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, was, for years, unable to vote. After a previous felony conviction, it wasn’t until former Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell restored his rights that Scott could participate in democracy again — eventually paving the way for his own run for office.
The Justice Department on Friday filed a lawsuit against Virginia, alleging that a state program aimed at removing people from the voter rolls, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin touted in an executive order in August, was implemented too close to the Nov. 5 elections and wrongfully included eligible voters. Scott said it’s another example of Youngkin’s administration restricting voting access.
“I would not be where I am today if I had to depend on somebody like Glenn Youngkin to help me get my rights restored,” Scott said in an interview Monday.
In a memo in response to the suit obtained by The Mercury over the weekend, Richard Cullen, a counselor to Youngkin, wrote that Virginia’s process for removing noncitizens from the voting rolls has taken place under both Democratic and Republican governors. It also outlines how Youngkin believes he is not violating a federal policy to have purged rolls by a set time that would allow a buffer to resolve any errors.
https://virginiamercury.com/2024/10/14/voter-purge-lawsuits-add-to-disenfranchisement-allegations-against-youngkin-administration/