The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced that it had filed a lawsuit to prevent non-residents from being able to vote in elections in Virginia.
In a press release on Monday, it was revealed that the RNC and RITE PAC filed a lawsuit against the Virginia State Board of Elections over a “provision in state law that allows non-residents to vote” in elections.
While the provision is described as having been “written to allow military members to vote while living overseas,” people who have “never lived in” Virginia or even the United States are allowed to “register and vote”:
• Today, the RNC and RITE PAC filed a lawsuit against the Virginia State Board of Elections challenging a provision in state law that allows non-residents to vote in the state’s elections.
- Supposedly written to allow military members to vote while living overseas, Virginia law currently allows individuals who have never lived in the state — or the country — to register and vote.
- These individuals are permitted to cast ballots in federal elections without establishing residency in Virginia.
“People who have never lived in Virginia — or even in the United States — should not be voting in Virginia’s election,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement. “Virginia officials are ignoring the Virginia Constitution and allowing ineligible voters to cast ballots.”
“This is an action challenging the constitutionality of Va. Code §§ 24.2-452(1)(e) and 24.2-456, which collectively permit the registration and voting of individuals who (a) were born outside of the United States and (b) have never resided in the Commonwealth, in direct violation of Va. Const. art. II, § 1,” the court document states. “Virginia has relaxed the Virginia Constitution’s residency requirement for such individuals based solely on the adult individual’s parent’s or legal guardian’s last place of residence in Virginia before leaving the United States.”
The RNC has previously filed similar lawsuits against Michigan and Arizona in order “to ensure only eligible residents vote in state elections,” according to the press release.
