THE CENTER SQUARE—Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced late Sunday the commonwealth will file an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to block the return of more than 1,500 noncitizens to voter rolls.

The appeal follows a unanimous panel ruling Sunday from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting Virginia’s request to stop an order from a lower court to reinstate noncitizens removed from voter rolls within 90 days of an election.

The latest ruling comes two days after the commonwealth filed an emergency motion to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on Friday night to stay a ruling from the district court.

Shortly after Friday’s ruling, Miyares defended the commonwealth’s removal of noncitizens from the voter rolls, claiming the ruling was “politically motivated.”

“It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter,” said Miyares. “The Department of Justice pulled this shameful, politically motivated stunt 25 days before Election Day, challenging a Virginia process signed into law 18 years ago by a Democrat governor and approved by the Department of Justice in 2006.”

The Friday ruling drew criticism from Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, who claimed the move was an attempt by the Biden administration to “weaponize” the Justice Department.

“Now their truly Weaponized Department of ‘Injustice,’ and a Judge (appointed by Joe), have ORDERED the Great Commonwealth of Virginia to PUT NON-CITIZEN VOTERS BACK ON THE ROLLS. This is a totally unacceptable travesty,” Trump posted on X.

The former president commended Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s vow to appeal the “illegal order,” while calling on SCOTUS to remedy the situation.

“Gov. Youngkin is absolutely right to appeal this ILLEGAL ORDER, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hopefully fix it! Only U.S. Citizens should be allowed to vote. Keep fighting, Glenn – AND REPUBLICANS IN VIRGINIA, KEEP VOTING EARLY!”

Shortly after Miyares’ announcement, Youngkin commended the attorney general for taking decisive action.

“It’s commonsense noncitizens shouldn’t be our voter rolls. Thank you [Jason Miyares] for filing immediately with the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency appeal of the order for Virginia to put over 1,500 people who self-identified as non-citizens back on the voter rolls,” Youngkin posted on X late Sunday evening.

The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department says the commonwealth unlawfully removed individuals deemed “noncitizens” from voter rolls within 90 days before an election, citing a “quiet period” in the National Voter Registration Act that mandates “no such voter cancelation or list maintenance programs may be conducted” within that time period.

It’s unclear if there is enough time for the Supreme Court to rule on the matter before Nov. 5.

Originally published by The Center Square