Republican attorneys general from 26 states filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to allow Virginia to purge non-citizens from its voter roll.
“It has always been against the law for non-citizens to vote,” said Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who led the coalition of GOP attorneys general. “Every vote cast by a non-citizen effectively cancels out the vote of a U.S. citizen. It is unconscionable that Democrats and activist judges are fighting to keep them on the rolls.”
The brief argues that a preliminary injunction that halted the state of Virginia from removing self-identified non-citizens from its rolls undermines a states’ authority to determine voter qualifications. Virginia’s law provides mechanisms to protect election integrity, while ensuring only U.S. citizens remain on voter rolls.
“The upcoming election is hotly contested and has caused division around the country. Perhaps the division would be lower if the federal government were not interfering with the election via last-minute attacks on state efforts to police voter qualifications,” the amicus brief reads.
The Eastern District of Virginia Court’s recent decision to temporarily stop Virginia from removing non-citizens from its rolls will result in Congress forcing a state to allow non-citizens to vote in an election over the objection of that state.
It converts Virginia’s statute into a federal mandate that forces states to allow non-citizens to vote in an upcoming election in violation of state law and federal law itself when a non-citizen is discovered on the rolls within 90 days of an election, according to the brief. (Attorney General of Kansas)
“Non-citizens are not eligible voters," the amicus states. "They were not eligible voters before Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act, they were not eligible when Congress passed the NVRA, and they are not eligible today."
In addition to Kansas, attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming joined the brief.
It has always been against the law for non-citizens to vote. Every vote cast by a non-citizen effectively cancels out the vote of a U.S. citizen. It is unconscionable that Democrats and activist judges are fighting to keep them on the rolls.https://t.co/Gy42ICUtjj pic.twitter.com/EAHTOJz0g8
— Kansas AG's Office (@KSAGOffice) October 29, 2024