Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va. (Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
The process for removing an ineligible voter described by the law only begins when a person who files for a driver's license or other government document attests that they are a noncitizen.
From there, the Department of Motor Vehicles shares that information with the state Department of Elections, which matches the information with the county or independent city’s registrar.
The individual is then notified that they are ineligible and is given 14 days to prove their citizenship. If they do not, they are then notified that they will be removed and are ultimately removed, the source said.
Virginia reportedly removed more than 6,300 individuals from their voter rolls since the order was signed.
In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, Youngkin called the legal action "unprecedented" and said he was simply assuring a law signed in 2006 by Kaine, who is running for reelection to the U.S. Senate this year, was being followed by counties and independent cities.
In a statement following the filing of the DOJ’s lawsuit, Youngkin staunchly defended his order.
"Americans will see this for exactly what it is – a desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of the elections in the Commonwealth, the very crucible of American Democracy," he said. "I will not stand idly by as this politically motivated action tries to interfere in our elections, period."
However, at the DOJ, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke said that culling voter registrations this close to election day potentially places qualified voters "in jeopardy of being removed from the rolls and creates the risk of confusion for the electorate."
"Congress adopted the National Voter Registration Act’s Quiet Period restriction to prevent error-prone, eleventh-hour efforts that all too often disenfranchise qualified voters," Clarke said in a statement.
As a result of Youngkin’s order, more than 1,000 registrations in two major Washington, D.C-area counties were canceled, according to local reports.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday. The DOJ is preparing charges against Iran over its efforts to influence the 2024 election cycle. (Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Loudoun County, a formerly-red bastion now tinted blue due to exurban sprawl from the nation’s capital, culled 98 names. Eastward along US-50, heavily-Democratic Fairfax County removed 985 and is transmitting them to the local prosecutor and Attorney General Jason Miyares to probe any potential lawbreaking, according to the local ABC affiliate.
In July, Kaine reiterated that voting is a right reserved for U.S. citizens.
Last week, a spokesperson for the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee said "just as we want to block non-citizens from voting, we need to keep eligible voters from being purged from voting rolls, particularly just weeks from an election."
"Senator Kaine is focused on making sure that every eligible Virginian has the opportunity to vote in this critical election."
Meanwhile, former President Trump scorched the lawsuit as evidence of DOJ "weaponization" and praised Youngkin’s "important work" to protect the veracity of voter rolls.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-pre-cleared-law-center-youngkin-voter-roll-culling-order-feds-now-suing-block