Supreme Court allows Virginia to purge suspected noncitizens from voter registration rolls

High court rules 5-4 in favor of state law

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday that Virginia can remove suspected noncitizens from its voter registration rolls. The decision is a victory for Republicans who have argued that noncitizens voting is a major problem. Democrats, on the other hand, say the law is discriminatory and will disenfranchise eligible voters.

The case

The case, Virginia v. Vidal, was brought by a group of Virginia voters who were removed from the voter rolls after the state used a data-matching program to identify potential noncitizens. The voters argued that the program was inaccurate and that they were being disenfranchised without due process.

The Supreme Court disagreed. In an opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the court ruled that the state's law is constitutional. The court said that the state has a legitimate interest in preventing noncitizens from voting and that the data-matching program is a reasonable way to do so.

The dissent

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissenting opinion that was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer. The dissenters argued that the state's law is discriminatory and that it will disenfranchise eligible voters. The dissenters also said that the data-matching program is inaccurate and that it has been used to target Latino voters.

The implications

The Supreme Court's decision is a major victory for Republicans. The decision could lead to other states adopting similar laws. The decision is also a setback for Democrats, who have argued that noncitizen voting is not a major problem and that laws like Virginia's are discriminatory.

The decision is likely to have a significant impact on the 2020 election. Democrats are hoping to mobilize Latino voters to help them win the election. The Supreme Court's decision could make it more difficult for Latino voters to register to vote.