The Supremes Stayed Virginia's Attempt To "Add Back" To Voting Rolls -- After "One Time" Purge -- Undertaken During "Quiet Period"...

The Supremes are clearly in the wrong here. There is on record proof that Virginia conducted a "one off" -- a purge of voters it asserted were non-citizens (some of those, clearly were determinations made in error -- see blue pull quote) at the beginning of the quiet period (when no changes may lawfully be made).

Overnight, the Supremes, with the usual "rule of law" threesome dissenting [Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would deny the application for stay], decided that Virgina need not add back some 1,600 voters it purged until after this election. Damn. Here's the opposition brief, from an immigrants' rights group:

. . .Applicants have not argued that the ad hoc process was required by state law or consistent with past practice. To the contrary, applicants and their own declarant described it as a “one-time” departure from the State’s usual procedures. Appl. App. 69, 88. Nor have applicants explained why they waited until weeks into the Quiet Period to initiate a novel removal program based on data that was up to 13 months old. And although the ad hoc process appears to have been undertaken in response to the Governor’s executive order, the order itself did not expressly describe the process or otherwise provide the public with notice that Virginia would be undertaking a new voter-removal program just before the 2024 election. . . .

For example, applicants canceled the registration of two voters whose applications were prominently stamped “NEW CITIZEN.” Private Resp. C.A. App. SA137, SA155. Applicants also canceled the registration of a member of the League of Women Voters of Virginia who was a naturalized citizen and had voted before. Id. at SA214. A lifelong citizen who recently renewed her driver’s license discovered that her registration had been canceled when she attempted to vote earlier this month. Id. at SA225. She was not offered a provisional ballot and instead had to re-register to ensure that her vote would be counted. Id. at SA225-SA226. Another citizen who was born in Virginia was removed from the rolls and learned of her disenfranchisement only after one of the private respondents contacted her. Id. at SA226-SA227; see id. at SA218 (describing 14 additional “United States citizens,” many of whom “have been registered for years and are frequent voters,” whose registrations were cancelled). . . .

It is hard not to see this as Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, Roberts, Gorsuch and Barrett trying to supress lawful votes, ones that might break toward Democratic candidates, in Virginia. But we will win Virginia for Kamala in spite of this. It will be. . . blue -- by late night on the Fifth.

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