FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sandra Benavente
Advocacy Manager
[email protected]
Washington, D.C. (October 28, 2024) – Today, Ayuda applauded the federal court decision to temporarily block Virginia’s “purge program,” an Executive Order from Governor Glenn Youngkin which resulted in approximately 1,600 voters being removed from the commonwealth’s voter roll. Ayuda and other immigrant rights supporters feared that this purge disproportionately impacted the voter registrations of naturalized citizens.
“This court ruling marks a critical step toward free and fair elections for all,” said Sandra Benavente, Ayuda Advocacy Manager. “Immigrants who naturalize fight so hard to earn U.S. citizenship and the many privileges that accompany it – including making their voices heard in our elections. Ayuda is grateful to the Department of Justice, African Communities Together, the League of Women Voters of Virginia Education Fund, the League of Women Voters of Virginia, and the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights for bringing this unjust ‘purge program’ to court. We also thank Judge Patricia T. Giles for choosing to defend the critical rights of immigrant citizens in Virginia, and further showing her commitment to electoral integrity.”
The Department of Justice and the coalition of immigrants’ rights groups named above challenged Virginia’s “purge program” in two separate lawsuits earlier this month. Both parties argued that the Governor’s Executive Order violates the National Voter Registration Act’s Quiet Period Provision, prohibiting the systematic removal of voters within 90 days of an election.
Governor Glenn Youngkin and the Virginia Attorney General’s initial appeal of the ruling was struck down Sunday and will head to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, voter registration will be restored for the thousands of Virginians removed from rolls.
For more information about voting in Virginia, visit www.vote411.org.
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About Ayuda:
Ayuda provides direct legal, social, and language access services to low-income immigrants in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Since 1973, Ayuda has served more than 150,000 immigrants throughout the region. Ayuda is the only nonprofit service provider in the area that provides a wide range of immigration and family law assistance, social services, and language access support for all immigrants – including women, men, and children – from anywhere in the world. Visit www.ayuda.com to learn more.