Judge Patricia Giles, who was nominated by President Biden to the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia, issued a preliminary injunction halting a purge ordered by Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin that would have removed some 1600 voters from the rolls prior to the election because they did not prove their citizenship. Judge Toby Heytens, nominated by President Biden to the Fourth Circuit court of appeals, wrote a unanimous opinion refusing to stay the district court injunction. Virginia has already asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The October 2024 district court decision was in Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights v Beals, which is also the title of the Fourth Circuit ruling on October 27.
What Happened in this Case?
In an executive order in August, Gov. Youngkin ordered state officials to expedite the use of information from the state department of motor vehicles to identify and cancel the voter registration of suspected noncitiznes unless they could prove their citizenship within fourteen days. Both the Justice Department and private groups filed suit, contending that Virginia’s conduct violated the National Voter Registration Action (NVRA).
In particular, the plaintiffs contended that the state’s conduct violated the NVRA provision that bars states from “systematically” removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a general election. The case was initially considered by Judge Giles in the district court.
How did Judges Giles, Heytens and the Fourth Circuit rule and why is it important?
Judge Giles found that the Virginia program did exactly what the NVRA prohibits, and that the database used inaccurately flagged and removed at least some eligible voters, who were unaware that they had been removed from the rolls. Judge Giles ordered the state to halt its program and to restore some 1600 voters it had purged from the rolls, making clear that the state could still seek to remove individual voters against whom it had specific evidence.
Virginia sought a stay of the order from the Fourth Circuit, which was denied in a unanimous opinion by Judge Heytens. The appellate court made clear it was “unpersuaded” by the state, which raised arguments violating “basic principles of statutory construction” in attempting to interpret the NVRA.
As did the district court, Judge Heytens noted that the state can still cancel registrations “on an individualized basis” with proper notice and opportunity to be heard. But the “balance of the equities” and the “public interest,” Judge Heytens concluded, clearly “favor interim” relief that will “prevent last-minute voter registration purges” and “ensure that people who are legally entitled to vote are not prevented from doing so by faulty databases or bureaucratic mistakes.”
Virginia has already sought intervention by the Supreme Court in this case. For now, however, the opinions by Biden judges Giles and Heytens are very important to ensure that Virginia does not improperly remove over 1600 people from voter rolls before this election. The decisions will likely also be significant in other cases around the country raising these issues. In addition, the decisions serve as a reminder of the importance of promptly confirming fair-minded judges to our federal courts.
UPDATE: On Octber 30, the Supreme Court issued a shadow docket order that effectively reversed the 4th Circuit and stayed the district court order pending final decision.