George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley criticized the Department of Justice Friday after a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate hundreds of non-citizens to the voter rolls.
A federal judge ordered Virginia to halt its effort to remove non-citizens Friday, granting an injunction requested by the Justice Department in a suit filed Oct. 12. Turley said the DOJ had previously approved the law’s use in the past under Democratic governors.
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“The Biden Administration argued that some or many of these were citizens who simply had bureaucratic problems or errors when they were at the DMV filling out forms. But the problem is that Virginia is a little different from Alabama,” Turley told “America’s Newsroom” co-hosts Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino. “As Gov. [Glenn] Youngkin pointed out, this was approved by the Department of Justice years ago under then-Gov. [Tim] Kaine, who ironically is on the ballot this election. And they say this has been used within the 90 days before an election, which is that critical so-called quiet period. And so the state is saying look, this is a rather odd timing of the events. Department of Justice green-lights this law, no objection in past years used by Democrats allegedly even during this period and suddenly when we use it, when we remove non-citizens, it becomes a problem.”
“Virginia was saying that these are basically actions that have been taken on the books for years,” Turley said. “When the DMV kicks back information to us saying that someone has identified themselves correctly or incorrectly as a non-citizen, that person then has 15 days to correct that and even if they don’t correct that, they can file provisional ballots so that their vote will count as they continue that effort. But this federal judge is saying no, just put them back on the voting rolls.”
Youngkin criticized the court’s ruling in a statement released Friday, telling Fox News host Harris Faulkner the state would appeal.
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“What the governor is saying is look, this is information supplied by the voter. It’s an automatic system. Keep in mind, Virginia doesn’t know who these people are gonna vote for. It’s not like there’s an effort to target one group,” Turley said. “This is an automated system that kicks over and says there is an anomaly here, a conflict, this person has identified themselves as a non-citizen. Many may have done it incorrectly or there might be an error and why they have these belts and suspenders, but part of the problem the states have here is that they feel like they’ve been harassed and sued by the Biden Administration at every turn over voter ID and other laws.”
“A new poll just came out that showed that over 80% of American citizens support voter ID and citizenship proof for voting. Over 80%,” Turney continued. “I mean, how many issues in today’s politics can you name where there is over 80% of agreement?”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.