Virginia Gov. Youngkin pushes back against DOJ lawsuit over cleaning up voter rolls

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin pushed back Sunday against a Department of Justice lawsuit against his state over an election reform law. 

Youngkin said that the law had been used most recently by previous Democratic administrations and there had been no intervention from the DOJ. 

"To be clear, this is not a purge. This is based on a law that was signed into effect in 2006 by then-Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine. And it starts with a basic premise that when someone walks into one of our DMVs and self-identifies as a noncitizen, and then they end up on the voter rolls, either purposely or by accident, that we go through a process, individualized – not system, not systematic – an individualized process based on that person's self-identification as a noncitizen to give them 14 days to affirm they are a citizen," Youngkin said during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," anchored by Shannon Bream, according to Fox News. 

"And if they don't, they come off the voter rolls. And by the way, they have one last safeguard, which is they can come and same day register and cast a provisional ballot," he added. 

The lawsuit, which the DOJ filed on Oct. 11, alleged that the state, its board of elections and elections commissioner had violated a federal law when it carried out an executive order by Youngkin that directs the appropriate officials to remove names of people who are "unable to verify that they are citizens" to the Department of Motor Vehicles for voter registration purposes.

“And now, 25 days — last week — before the election, the Justice Department decides they are going to bring suit after this law’s been in effect for 18 years, administered by Democrat and Republican governors. And this is the reason why I believe that Americans and Virginians wonder what the Justice Department is up to,” Youngkin said in his “Fox News Sunday” appearance.