Voting rights groups say state documents prove Virginia is wrongfully removing eligible citizens from the voter rolls

8News has learned that, following a federal judge’s orders, the state is handing over documents to voting and immigrant rights groups ahead of a Thursday hearing on lawsuits filed claiming the process is illegal.

The lawsuits allege that an executive order signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin in August requiring the Department of Elections to use DMV data to make “daily updates” to the state voter rolls in an effort to remove potential non-citizens from the voter rolls violated a federal law preventing the state from systematically removing voters from the rolls 90 days before an election.

Those voting rights groups say the documentation from the state shows that around 1600 people have been removed from the rolls, including several who are actually citizens and were therefore wrongfully removed.

“At least some, if not many of the voters who were removed are eligible voters and we have confirmed this by speaking to a number of individuals who were removed and who are eligible, they are citizens and they have been voting often for decades,” said Ryan Snow, with the Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law.

It comes as Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office is responding to the lawsuit. In a court filing, the AG’s office said the federal law in question doesn’t apply to the “removal of persons who were never eligible to vote” like non-citizens.

Plus, Miyares’ office says Virginia’s approach is not systematic because the process begins when an individual identifies themselves as a non-citizen during a DMV transaction and the affected person is “sent two individualized letters” giving them an opportunity to correct any mistake concerning their citizenship.

“The pipeline from DMV to Elect to the local registrars is essentially an automated process. There is no individual vetting or investigation going on during those steps,” Snow told 8News.