Virginia does not have to restore the registrations of 1,600 voters, some of whom appear to have been wrongly removed, ahead of next week’s election, the US supreme court said on Wednesday.

The court made the decision on its emergency docket and did not give a rationale for its decision, which is customary for rulings on an expedited basis. All three liberal justices on the court – Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson – said they would not have halted a lower-court ruling earlier in October ordering the state to restore the voter registrations.

The legal dispute centers on a 7 August executive order by the Virginia governor, Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, directing the state to run its voter registration rolls against DMV data on a daily basis to check for non-citizens. The justice department and civil rights groups sued, saying that the state was violating a federal law that prohibits systematic removals of voters within 90 days of a federal election.

  • killea@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    That is… unadulterated plain and simple clear as day election interference. If I didn’t know better I’d say our whole system is in collapse.

    • 418_im_a_teapot@sh.itjust.works
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      22 days ago

      When Kris Kobach was able to go through Kansas voter rolls and remove “foreign sounding” names with no real consequences, I knew it would start a trend. Here we are.

      Given this ruling I wonder what other voter registration purges we will see this week.

      I’m tired.

  • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.works
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    22 days ago

    The Supreme Court just straight up violated Federal Law. I’m floored right now. Just absolutely floored. I thought this was SO clear-cut, that even THIS court could not possibly justify a ruling like this. What…what do we even do at this point?

  • raynethackery@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    We’re done. Someone turn the light out.

    I won’t survive a civil war. I’m in my early fifties, overweight, have other health issues, have never held a gun, and don’t have any particularly special skills or training that would allow me to emigrate. I’m sure I’m not the only one with these kinds of issues. Everything for me is in this country. I vote and am in a deep blue state but if violence tears us apart, I’m not sure what I could do.

    I fucking hate all the people that think they are better off in a dictatorship. God is not coming back because he was never hear in the first place. But assuming I am wrong, how arrogant of you to think you could force his hand and accelerate his return. Also, the height of arrogance to think you would be “Raptured.”

    • horse_battery_staple@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      In the American revolution only one third of the population contributed to the war effort, a much smaller subset actually took up arms.

      The Civil War, only one tenth of the population fought.

      In any upcoming civil unrest, know that you’ll not need to fire a gun. Reach out to your local community. Talk to your neighbors. Mutual aid and collective security are what we need to fight fascists. Not necessarily guns.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      21 days ago

      You don’t need to emigrate. Look at the Ukraine war. Most people in the actual fighting areas didn’t leave until days before the Russians arrived. Although if that happens, a civil war is pretty much instant refugee status anywhere in the western world.

      Also, while SCOTUS has clearly cast their ballot, Virginia wasn’t a state on the Democratic party path to victory. So all is not yet lost.

      In the case it does happen and you’re not in a safe zone; what you need to do is pay attention, and be ready to move away from the fighting. Keep a go bag of all your documents, 72 hours of non perishable food, changes of clothes, and weather gear. Figure out what you need to walk, (I need a walking stick these days). The primary method of evacuation is usually walking because if you’ve waited too long then cars become targets. If you can’t walk then figure out the helper organizations. They will exist, they will give rides with drivers who voluntarily and often drive into the bad areas so they’ll have the experience necessary. If you have to shelter in place, plan to have weeks of non perishable food on hand. The Russians kept a 24 hour curfew in Bucha for over a week. It’s a war crime to do so, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

      Normally I would say follow all directions from soldiers of either side, but the Republicans have been open with some very violent tendencies. So I would hide from them and follow all instructions from friendly soldiers, no matter how weird they seem. (Walk on this path 50m to the left of the road being a common one for everyone’s protection)

      I sincerely hope you need none of this advice, we’re not there yet, but if it comes to an actual civil war you can survive.

  • kmartburrito@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    Thankfully Virginia has same day voter registration, so at least some of them will be able to re-register on the spot. I’m sure some will be impacted by not having identification, etc, but this is better than many states that don’t allow same day registration when voting.

    Still, fuck those asshats. Is so telling when you see people trying to take away one’s chance to have their voice heard.

    • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      You don’t need ID to register to vote in Virginia. You just need to fill out a form.

      You do need ID to actually vote, though. So bring it to the poll regardless.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      Thankfully Virginia has same day voter registration, so at least some of them will be able to re-register on the spot.

      Will would-be voters be TOLD that or will they just be turned away because they are told they aren’t registered to vote.

      • 418_im_a_teapot@sh.itjust.works
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        22 days ago

        … after standing in line for four hours.

        And how many of those won’t be able to get that time off work again or be able to get a babysitter again.

      • kmartburrito@lemmy.world
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        22 days ago

        It would hopefully go like this - “It doesn’t look like you’re registered, let’s do that now” but I’m not 100% sure.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    21 days ago

    Holy shit. That’s. I don’t have words. The entire reason for the 90 day period is to prevent fuck ups that stop citizens from voting. Fuck ups we already know have happened. They have 275 days a year to purge the rolls. And this fucking court is going to let them purge in the 90 day period?

    I’m not going to be surprised when a state like Virginia “accidently” purges 50,000 Democrats who voted in the last couple elections. Just enough to put the thumb on the scale and still call it an oopsie. This is yet another way they plan to make sure red states stay red. And why Trump says he’ll use the military. Because in any functioning democracy this would result in immediate riots.

  • Allonzee@lemmy.world
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    21 days ago

    You know what will happen if Harris wins decisively?

    The SCOTUS will say Trump won anyway, just like in 2000 when they were far less emboldened. And what they say will go again.

    And the feckless people will allow it yet again instead of justly rioting for having their voice silenced in the name of the profiteers our Federalist Society SCOTUS works for.

    I’m voting for Harris to say I raged against the dying of the light, but this country is over, because our people are beaten dogs more concerned with preserving the continuity of their fast food and social media capitalist opiates than being a society.

  • Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    We need to overhaul and stack this “supreme” court. After additional justices are added, special hearings should be convened to address the impartiality and graft of specific members of the court.