Supreme Court's Controversial Voter Purge Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated Virginia's voter roll purge of about 1,600 individuals deemed non-citizens ahead of the Nov. 5 election, despite federal objections and concerns about mistakenly removing legitimate voters. The decision has significant implications amid a politically charged election season.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Virginia's decision to purge approximately 1,600 voters from its rolls just before the November 5 election. State officials claimed these individuals were non-citizens, but federal entities and voting rights advocates argued that some legitimate voters may be improperly removed.

This decision came after conservative judges outvoted the liberal justices who dissented. District Judge Patricia Giles, a Biden appointee, had previously blocked Virginia's process, citing its proximity to the election as a violation of federal law.

Governor Glenn Youngkin's policy, announced in August, aimed to enhance data sharing and systematically scrub the voter rolls. Critics, including the League of Women Voters, filed lawsuits, arguing the move violated federal voter registration laws designed to prevent error-prone purges close to elections.

(With inputs from agencies.)