Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an Govt Order on Elections on August 7, 2024. On October 11, 2024, the Division of Justice selected to sue Governor Youngkin on his Govt Order and the case is now in entrance of the Supreme Court docket. The essential situation at hand is the collision of two Federal Legal guidelines, the 1993 Motor Voter Legislation and 18USC611 Voting by Aliens.
Governor Youngkin’s Govt Order helped make clear abidance by the Commonwealth of Virginia on these two totally different Federal Election Legal guidelines. The Nationwide Voter Registration Act Of 1993 (NVRA) (usually referred to as “Motor Voter”) mandates the choice to register to vote when making use of for a Driver’s License in 44 states together with Virginia.
There’s additionally 18USC611 referred to as “Voting by Aliens”. For some purpose this legislation isn’t cited or referenced, even by constitutionally minded election integrity consultants. 18USC611 makes it unequivocal and non-debatable that one should be a lawful U.S. Citizen to vote in a U.S. Federal Election.
The problem is that for many years nobody has bothered to confirm that these two Federal Legal guidelines are working seamlessly and cooperatively with one another. There was this presumption of belief between Motor Voter and 18USC611. Someway there’s some magical, clear, auditable course of that verifies U.S. Citizenship earlier than a Motor Voter derived title is placed on the rolls. The existence of such a course of is a big presumption of fact – particularly when there seems to be no state that conducts audits of such supposed processes and releases the detailed course of, the audit course of, and outcomes to the general public.
There additionally seems to be no curiosity by the Federal Authorities in imposing 18USC611. Lawyer Basic Barr was apparently unaware of 18USC611 in the course of the 2020 election. Not too long ago the Director of Nationwide Intelligence gave briefings on International Interference in U.S. Elections and didn’t point out 18USC611 nor would reply to questions on whether or not an Unlawful Alien voting in a U.S. Election amounted to International Interference.
Presumably as a result of there was no confidence that the Federal Authorities was making certain that these two Federal Legal guidelines have been correctly working in concord, Governor Youngkin selected to deal with this matter in his Govt Order. Open Border advocates who’re trying to get as many illegals into the nation as potential and signal them up for driver’s licenses have a vested curiosity in making certain no mild is proven on the shortage of verifiable and auditable processes to validate U.S. Citizenship. Line One on Driver’s License functions in seemingly all states asks whether or not the applicant desires to register to vote. Who vets and ensures the applicant who marks “Sure” is a authorized U.S. Citizen? That may be a nice query.
My very own Election Registrar in Prince William County had no responsive “information” to show they have been following the Governor’s August 7, 2024, Govt Order nor that that they had a course of to make sure Motor Voter names have been authenticated earlier than being positioned on the election rolls. In 2019 I did a Freedom of Info Act Request and located that at a minimal, 6% of the names on the election rolls in my county included illegal voters. Making use of different components, the variety of illegal voters on the rolls was seemingly 12% or better.
County Officers most frequently referred to as “Registrars” are usually the accountable, authorized, sworn, constitutional official for making certain a voter is a lawful voter. But my Registrar, and certain lots of the 3,300 or so County Registrars throughout the nation seem like presuming citizenship validation is taking some other place of their state forms.
The Federal Authorities has failed to deal with or resolve the apparent hole and seam between two key Federal Election Legal guidelines. The DOJ’s main level of grievance of their October 11, 2024, lawsuit in opposition to Virginia is that Motor Voter provides a 90-day window prematurely of an election the place names can’t be faraway from the Election Rolls – that is often known as the “NVRA Quiet Interval Provision”.
DOJ is seemingly saying that this 90-day window trumps 18USC611. Now the showdown has been set. The view of Virginia is that 18USC611 trumps the 1993 Motor Voter Legislation. To be retained on an Election Rolls, one should be a lawful voter. How might one be retained and never eliminated throughout this 90-day window in the event that they weren’t lawful to be on the election roll within the first place?
Governor Youngkin of Virginia has stepped in the place the Federal Authorities has didn’t act – and he will get sued by the Division of Justice (DOJ). With the SCOTUS case a showdown has been established; which legislation has priority.
Amicus briefs have been filed. One of many first to reach was from the Nationwide Election Integrity Affiliation (NEIA), a Virginia non-profit centered on free and truthful elections (and for full disclosure, I’m the Director of the NEIA). The predicate of the NEIA Amicus submitting in assist of Virginia is:
“The NVRA’s Quiet Interval Provision, nonetheless, doesn’t apply to the elimination of noncitizens as a result of they’re exterior of the NVRA’s statutory building. Actually, a noncitizen, who’s inherently ineligible to vote in United States elections, can’t receive protections below the NVRA in any respect since a noncitizen can’t legally turn into an eligible applicant or a registrant below the NVRA. Due to this fact, Virginia’s elimination of noncitizens inside 90 days of the election couldn’t violate the NVRA or different federal legislation. Accordingly, the injunction granted by the Jap District of Virginia, and affirmed by the Fourth Circuit Court docket of Appeals, ought to be vacated as Plaintiffs weren’t more likely to succeed on the deserves of their case, amongst different causes.”
The authorized rumble has been set – and the end result could also be decisive in Election 2024.
