VA Gov. Glenn Youngkin slams Biden-Harris DOJ's voter roll lawsuit

The state of Virginia, under Gov. Glenn Youngkin's orders, recently made efforts to clean up its voter rolls as the election approaches -- specifically purging those who can't prove that they're U.S. citizens and legally allowed to vote.

Not surprisingly, President Joe Biden's Department of Justice recently sued the state for those efforts, claiming that they were a violation of federal law to take such actions within 90 days of an election.

According to the Washington Examiner, Youngkin fired back at the Justice Department, claiming the lawsuit is "politically motivated" primarily because removing certain groups of people will likely have the most detrimental effect on Democratic candidates.

The Republican governor had signed an executive order directing election officials to remove certain voters.

The outlet noted:

The DOJ sued Virginia for violating the federal prohibition on systematic efforts to remove voters within 90 days of an election after Youngkin signed an executive order requiring the commissioner of the Department of Elections to certify that the department was conducting “daily updates to the voter list” to purge the voter rolls of people who are unable to verify that they are citizens to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Youngkin doubled down on his accusation that the DOJ-led lawsuit is akin to election interference.

"With fewer than 30 days until the election, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice is filing an unprecedented lawsuit against me and the Commonwealth of Virginia, for appropriately enforcing a 2006 law signed by Democrat Tim Kaine that requires Virginia to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls — a process that starts with someone declaring themselves a non-citizen and then registering to vote," Youngkin said.

The governor also stated that he believes Virginia voters -- and the general public -- will look at the DOJ lawsuit as a "desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of the elections in the Commonwealth."

Youngkin released a statement on his X account doubling down on his insistence that it's a politically motivated lawsuit.

"It’s unbelievable to me that, just 25 days before a presidential election, the DOJ is suing the Commonwealth for enforcing a law that has been on the books for nearly two decades to keep our voter rolls accurate by removing noncitizens. This is unprecedented, and I stand by my duty to ensure fair, safe, and accurate elections in Virginia—no exceptions," he wrote.

It’s unbelievable to me that, just 25 days before a presidential election, the DOJ is suing the Commonwealth for enforcing a law that has been on the books for nearly two decades to keep our voter rolls accurate by removing noncitizens. This is unprecedented, and I stand by my… pic.twitter.com/xoy3Tb3lDj

— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) October 15, 2024

He vowed to work with his attorney general in defending the state's right to clean up its voter rolls.

"With the support of our Attorney General, we will defend these commonsense steps, that we are legally required to take, with every resource available to us. Virginia’s election will be secure and fair, and I will not stand idly by as this politically motivated action tries to interfere in our elections, period," the governor wrote.

Only time will tell how far the DOJ takes the lawsuit.