Attorney General Alan Wilson, along with attorneys general from 26 states, has submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief urges the court to permit Virginia to remove non-citizens from its voter rolls.
"The right to vote in our federal elections is given to every American citizen, but nowhere in the Constitution does that include any non-citizens. Allowing non-citizens to cast a ballot is not only a violation of the law but also corrupts the integrity of our elections," stated Attorney General Wilson.
The brief challenges a preliminary injunction that stopped Virginia from removing self-identified non-citizens from its voter lists, arguing it undermines state authority over voter qualifications. Virginia's laws are designed to protect election integrity by ensuring only U.S. citizens are 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," according to the amicus brief.
A recent decision by the Eastern District of Virginia Court temporarily halts Virginia's efforts, potentially allowing Congress to mandate states permit non-citizen voting against state objections.
It suggests that this ruling turns Virginia’s statute into a federal requirement forcing states to allow non-citizens voting rights when discovered within 90 days of an election, violating both state and federal laws.
"Non-citizens are not eligible voters. 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," reads another section of the amicus brief.
Joining South Carolina and Kansas in this effort are attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas Utah West Virginia and Wyoming.