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GOP
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In an unsigned order that overturns decades of precedent about not interfering with an election in the 90 days preceding it, yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that Virginia could spend the rest of the week purging voters who were suspected of not being citizens. Voting rights groups were outraged, because the purge is sure to disenfranchise some eligible voters without giving them an opportunity to appeal the disenfranchisement.
The case involves only about 1,600 voters in Virginia, which is not a swing state, but opens the door to more purges in other states. After all, there are 5 days left until the election. That's time for emergency lawsuits in Georgia, North Carolina, and other states.
Once again, the Supreme Court has demonstrated that the whole concept of stare decisis is now a dead letter. It feels it can throw out any precedent it doesn't like. One of the most sacred of precedents has always been not to interfere with elections just before an election. That precedent had a solid basis in law. The 1993 National Voter Registration Act bars states from making any systematic changes to the voting rolls within 90 days of an election. That's gone now, opening the door to much more mischief in the future.
What is especially dangerous and confusing is that the opinion was unsigned and provided no explanation of why the Court was willing to allow a state to purge the rolls so close to an election. It could have ruled that a purge of noncitizens was allowed, but only after this election, to avoid having any citizens accidentally removed. But it didn't.
However, one consolation for eligible voters who are disenfranchised is that Virginia allows same-day registration. Any voter who has been stricken can show up with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport, and reregister on the spot and then vote. (V)