### Virginia's Controversial Voter Removal Program Sparks Legal Battle

Nadra Wilson, a resident of Lynchburg, Virginia, was bewildered and distressed when she received a notification from local election officials questioning her U.S. citizenship. The letter, which was initially sent to an incorrect address, demanded she affirm her citizenship within 14 days to avoid cancellation of her voter registration. By the time Wilson received the notice in October, the deadline had already lapsed. "I was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. - I'm a citizen," she told NPR, presenting her American passport as proof.

Wilson, who has lived in Virginia for nine years and registered to vote before the 2016 election, found herself entangled in a voter removal program recently implemented by state election officials. This program, aimed at identifying and removing noncitizens from the voter rolls, erroneously targeted eligible U.S. citizens like Wilson. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide soon on an emergency request to block a lower court ruling that mandates the reinstatement of Wilson and about 1,600 other purged voters.

The controversy stems from a 2006 state law, which Governor Glenn Youngkin's administration asserts requires the removal of noncitizens from voter rolls. Youngkin's executive order in August mandated daily removal of suspected noncitizens by county election officials. However, civil rights groups and the U.S. Department of Justice argue that the program has violated federal law by incorrectly purging citizens and removing voters too close to an election.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled that the state's actions contravened the National Voter Registration Act, which restricts systematic voter removals within 90 days of a federal election. Giles' order requires Virginia to reinstate the affected voters but permits the state to remove noncitizens through "individualized review."

Governor Youngkin has criticized the ruling, claiming it forces Virginia to restore noncitizens to its voter rolls, a statement that Wilson and other affected voters contest. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's ruling, leading Virginia to appeal to the Supreme Court. With Election Day approaching, there remains some opportunity for reinstated voters to participate, though many may have missed the absentee ballot request deadline.

This legal dispute occurs in a politically charged atmosphere, with Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump, propagating unfounded theories about noncitizen voting. Critics claim these allegations are intended to undermine trust in the election process. Notably, Virginia joins other Republican-led states in implementing strict measures purportedly targeting noncitizens but affecting eligible voters.

Many mistakenly flagged voters share similar experiences. For instance, Wilson and another voter, Rina Shaw, believe their incorrect removal might be linked to misleading forms at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Eric Olsen, Prince William County's director of elections, acknowledges that DMV forms can confuse residents, leading to inadvertent errors in their citizenship status.

Efforts are ongoing to reach out to the 1,600 mistakenly removed voters, but due to the lack of a central U.S. citizenship database, identifying the incorrect removals remains challenging. Civil rights attorneys have confirmed that many citizens were wrongfully purged and have tried to contact them to rectify their registration status.

Wilson managed to resolve her registration issue by visiting her local election board and successfully cast her early vote. "I'm grateful that I was able to get it fixed," she said, reflecting on the hurdles she overcame to participate in the electoral process.