Oklahoma Attorney General Forms Coalition with 25 States, Petitions Supreme Court to Uphold Virginia Voter Roll Regulations

As the presidential election looms on the horizon, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is leading a charge to the Supreme Court, aiming to put Virginia's voter roll scrutiny back on track. Drummond, alongside a posse of 25 other states, submitted an amicus brief that thrusts at the preliminary injunction keeping Virginia from excising self-acknowledged non-citizens from its voter lists. The coalition holds firm on the belief that a state's grasp on election regulation, on who gets to hold the ballot and cast it, should be unyielding, as per Oklahoma's official newsroom.

"Election integrity is non-negotiable," Drummond said. This move comes as voters have begun to mark ballots that will determine the next leader of the nation. But while the Attorney General and his allies sound the alarm, the Eastern District of Virginia Court's recent decision pauses Virginia's ability to make these removals, a point of consternation for states' rights advocates. The argument presented, and articulated by Oklahoma's official newsroom, suggests that Congress oversteps by hindering a state from ejecting non-citizens from voter rolls so close to an election, even as federal and, state laws deem them ineligible voters.

The brief drives home an unshakeable stance on non-citizens and voting rights, or the lack thereof: "Non-citizens are not eligible voters. They were not eligible voters before Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act, they were not eligible when Congress passed the NVRA and they are not eligible today," according to the official newsroom. 

Attorneys general from states ranging from Alabama to Wyoming have come together to support a shared goal: ensuring the integrity of elections.