Purging voters: Inside Republican efforts to restrict 2024 election vote

The Republican party has filed lawsuits across key states to tighten voting rules. But could it backfire?

On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court’s conservative majority gave the Republicans a win, voting to uphold Virginia’s efforts to purge voters less than a week before the 2024 election.

A federal judge had previously found that Virginia had illegally purged 16,000 voter registrations over the previous two months, however, the Supreme Court granted the largely Democratic-voting state’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin an emergency appeal this week. A coalition of independent groups, including the US Department of Justice, had previously sued the state for violating federal election law, arguing the efforts were stripping eligible voters of their right to vote.

Youngkin said voters who believe they were improperly removed from the rolls can still vote in the election because Virginia has same-day registration.

“There is the ultimate, ultimate safeguard in Virginia, no one is being precluded from voting, and therefore, I encourage every single citizen – go vote,” Youngkin told reporters.

On social media, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had previously blasted the Virginia court’s initial ruling as a  “totally unacceptable travesty.” “Only US Citizens should be allowed to vote,” the former president added.