Civil rights leaders are raising alarms about a Supreme Court decision they fear could undermine voting rights and lead to more voter suppression.
The justices on Wednesday blocked a judge's Oct. 25 order requiring Virginia to restore the affected people's voting registration.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, on Aug. 7, announced a new policy for culling from Virginia's official voter registration list people "unable to verify that they are citizens," with daily data sharing among state agencies.
Civil rights groups argued to ABC News the focus on noncitizens voting is a false narrative.
“The idea of people who are not legal citizens voting is an absolute myth. It is not true," NAACP's Anthony P. Ashton, senior associate general counsel, said to ABC News. "It is not true. This has been a theme that has been expressed now for a later narrative to try to undermine democracy, undermine faith in the democratic process."
Ryan Snow, a litigator with Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law told ABC News one voter who was removed was a naturalized citizen who had voted for 30 years. Other advocates told ABC News that several U.S. citizens, including a Puerto Rican-born voter, were also removed.
Hans von Spakovsky, the manager of Heritage’s Election Law Reform initiative, said the court’s decision was a significant victory for election integrity.
“States should take this action from the Supreme Court as confirmation that they can clean up their voter rolls," he told ABC News. "It should also signal to DOJ that they need to investigate and prosecute these aliens, not try to force Virginia or any other state to keep them registered in voter rolls in violation of federal law."
NAACP general counsel Janette McCarthy-Wallace told ABC News in a statement that she is fighting for free and fair elections in 10 legal battles across the U.S.
“Make no mistake — across the country, certain state officials are trying to manufacture a legal foundation that they will use to justify false claims of election fraud during and after the election,” McCarthy-Wallace said. “We cannot stand idly by as the law is manipulated to help subvert democracy and silence the voices of our communities.”
Virginia is allowing same-day registration through Nov. 5, so any voter who was improperly removed will be able to cast a provisional ballot.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.