‘Never Lived Here, Still Voting’: Virginia’s Election Loophole Heads to Court

'Never Lived Here, Still Voting': Virginia’s Election Loophole Heads to Court

---

'Never Lived Here, Still Voting': Virginia’s Election Loophole Heads to Court

The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.

AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File

The Republican National Committee, alongside Virginia voter Matthew Hurtt and RITE PAC, has filed a lawsuit in Richmond Circuit Court targeting a Virginia election law that allows some people who have never lived in the state to vote there.

The complaint, filed Monday, centers on a category of voter rarely discussed: individuals who have never lived in Virginia but can still register and vote there. Under current law, individuals born outside the United States can register and vote in Virginia using a parent or legal guardian’s last voting address.
The Virginia Constitution requires that each voter be “a resident of the Commonwealth and of the precinct where he votes,” with residence defined as both domicile and a place of abode.
The lawsuit argues the current system fails that requirement.
According to the filing, Virginia’s statutory scheme “explicitly dispenses with the Virginia Constitution’s residency requirement” and assigns these voters a residence based on the last place a parent lived before leaving the United States.
“A person who has never resided in Virginia is not—and cannot be made—a resident of the Commonwealth by legislative fiat. A parent’s former domicile or voting eligibility cannot serve as a substitute for an individual’s actual residence.”

The filing describes how the system works in practice. Election officials process registrations from individuals who identify on federal forms as U.S. citizens who have “never lived in the United States,” then issue them federal-only absentee ballots tied to a Virginia address.

The complaint does not challenge absentee voting for military personnel or Americans who previously lived in Virginia and now reside overseas. Those voters remain eligible under both federal and state law.
Read More: We Need to Pass the SAVE America Act to Save America’s Elections From Fraud
Democrats Get More Bad Polling News on Voter ID Amid Demagoguery on SAVE America Act
It focuses on “never-resident” voters, people with no personal history of residency in Virginia, but who are treated as voters based solely on a parent’s past address.
Hurtt, chairman of the Arlington County Republican Committee, described the issue in an email to local Republicans, writing that the lawsuit challenges a rule allowing some overseas voters to participate in Virginia elections “even if they have never lived in the Commonwealth.”
In an exclusive statement to RedState, Hurtt said:
“I have made election integrity a centerpiece of my political engagement in Arlington over the last several years, and I am ready to fight it out in the courts to ensure the Constitution of Virginia and our laws to protect lawful, qualified voters are upheld.
"A successful outcome takes us one step closer to free and fair — emphasis on fair — elections in Virginia.”

The complaint states that allowing these people to vote “dilutes the votes of qualified Virginia voters” and forces parties to compete in elections that include individuals who are not constitutionally eligible.
“Voting by individuals who are not and have never been Virginia residents dilutes the votes of qualified Virginia voters [and] undermines the integrity of Virginia’s electoral process.”

Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the statutes unconstitutional and to stop election officials from continuing to register these voters, issue ballots to them, or count their votes going forward.

Editor's Note: The Democrats are doing everything in their power to undermine the integrity of our elections.
Please help us tell the truth about the SAVE America Act and how it will prevent voter fraud. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.