According to the DOJ, Virginia has been violating a “Quiet Period Provision” in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 that requires states to refrain from removing voters from rolls within 90 days before an election regardless of the reason for doing so.
Virginia officials are accused of sending “Affirmation of Citizenship” forms to voters who “are in fact U.S. citizens and eligible to vote” and requiring them to respond within 14 days or have their registration canceled, a process that the DOJ claims “has led to U.S. citizens having their voter registrations canceled.”
“By cancelling voter registrations within 90 days of Election Day, Virginia places qualified voters in jeopardy of being removed from the rolls and creates the risk of confusion for the electorate,” said Clarke.
“Congress adopted the National Voter Registration Act’s quiet period restriction to prevent error-prone, eleventh hour efforts that all too often disenfranchise qualified voters,” she added.