PHOTO: U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. on July 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Reuters)

Federal law calls for a ‘quiet period’ to prevent states from removing voters less than 90 days before an election. Youngkin issued his order exactly 90 days prior to Nov. 5.

By David Zimmermann | NATIONAL REVIEW

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Virginia is entitled to remove noncitizen aliens from its voter rolls, siding with the commonwealth over lower courts less than a week out from the election.

The order comes two days after Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares filed an emergency application, requesting that the Court stay an injunction that ordered Virginia to restore some 1,600 suspected noncitizens who are ineligible to vote to the state’s voter rolls.

A federal appeals court upheld the injunction on Sunday, quickly prompting the attorney general to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Court released the one-page order Wednesday morning, noting that liberal-leaning Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied Virginia’s emergency request for an appeal.

The Department of Justice sued Virginia earlier this month, targeting an executive order signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin that formalized a program to remove noncitizens from the state’s voter-registration lists.

On Friday, a Biden-appointed federal judge took issue with Virginia’s purging of aliens from the voter rolls because the action came too close to the November election and therefore violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

The federal law includes a so-called “quiet period” provision that prevents states from removing voters less than 90 days before an election. Youngkin issued the order exactly 90 days before Election Day. The provision is meant to prevent last-minute mistakes.

Miyares and Youngkin, both Republicans, said they are “pleased” with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“This is a victory for commonsense and election fairness,” Youngkin said in a statement. “I am grateful for the work of Attorney General Jason Miyares on this critical fight to protect the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens. Clean voter rolls are one important part of a comprehensive approach we are taking to ensure the fairness of our elections.”

“Virginians also know that we have paper ballots, counting machines not connected to the internet, a strong chain of custody process, signature verification, monitored and secured drop boxes, and a ‘triple check’ vote counting process to tabulate results,” the governor added.

“Virginians can cast their ballots on Election Day knowing that Virginia’s elections are fair, secure, and free from politically-motivated interference.” ##