Shantae Martin fondly recalls her first voting experience, encouraged by her grandmother. She proudly cast her initial vote for Barack Obama. Recently, however, she received an unexpected letter from election officials informing her that her voter registration had been canceled due to a claim that she is a noncitizen. This left the 37-year-old lifelong Virginian perplexed. “I was honestly confused,” she shared in an interview with News4. “I was born and raised in Woodbridge, Virginia; you have all my information, and now you’re saying I’m an alien? Why was I allowed to vote before but not now?”
Martin is among 1,600 Virginians who faced similar cancellations after Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order on August 7 to expedite the removal of noncitizens from voter rolls. Many individuals were removed simply because they either checked or failed to check a box on their DMV forms indicating their citizenship status. In response, the Department of Justice and immigrant advocacy groups filed a lawsuit claiming this purge violated federal law prohibiting voter registration cancellations close to elections.
Monica Sarmiento, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, emphasized the importance of these stories: “These are U.S. citizens being denied their right to vote.” Martin’s situation is part of this broader legal challenge; after obtaining a new driver’s license in the spring, she suspects there may have been an error.
Fortunately, both a federal judge and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the voter purge breached federal law and ordered that all 1,600 affected voters be reinstated. In response, Virginia requested an emergency stay from the U.S. Supreme Court to halt this reinstatement process, arguing that states have the authority to systematically remove noncitizens as well as minors and fictitious individuals at any time—even within 90 days leading up to an election—without violating the National Voter Registration Act.
Despite these challenges, there remains hope for justice as many advocate for restoring voting rights for those affected by these recent actions.
Election officials in the area are looking forward to receiving instructions from the state on how to restore the voters whose registrations were canceled, as directed by the court. They want to remind everyone that same-day registration is available for all residents of the Commonwealth.
Martin expressed her hope that by sharing her story, she can inspire and assist other voters facing similar challenges with their registrations. It’s important for someone to shine a light on this situation, she said. We need to see some positive change come from it.