RICHMOND, Va. -- At issue, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, is a section of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
They say the "Quiet Period Provision" means systematic programs that remove ineligible voters from the list of eligible voters, known as voter rolls, must be completed 90 days before a federal election.
The DOJ says an Executive Order signed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin on August 7, which was 90 days before the November 5 election, violates that.
Instead of monthly comparisons, the order directed state election officials to do daily ones between Department of Motor Vehicle records of people who said they were non-citizens with the state's voting rolls.
Local registrars would then notify potential matches -- and give them 14 days to prove their citizenship or get removed from the rolls.
Speaking to CBS 6's sister station WTKR back in August, Youngkin said it was an effort to make Virginia's voter rolls the cleanest in the nation.
"This has been incredibly important, as I said, to address Virginians who have passed away or moved away, and noncitizens who, either accidentally or through malice, have registered to vote," Youngkin said.
But the DOJ says taking this action violates federal law because it risks removing qualified voters and not giving them enough time to get the issue corrected or could dissuade them from voting at all.
In response, Youngkin, a Republican, said he was enforcing a 2006 law signed by then-Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and called the lawsuit unprecedented, and a politically motivated action to interfere with Virginia's elections.
In a memo written by Youngkin's counsel, Richard Cullen, and obtained by CBS 6, he argues this federal law doesn't apply as this is an individualized -- not systematic -- process and adds Virginia has a failsafe of same-day voter registration.
"I think the issue here is both legal and political," CBS 6 political analyst Bob Holsworth said.
CBS 6 Political Analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth says the DOJ is trying to draw attention to how non-citizens voting in Virginia is not an issue.
In his order, Youngkin said over 6,300 non-citizens were removed from voter rolls -- but an analysis from the Washington Post said most of those removals were paperwork errors and many were citizens who forgot to check the correct box.
It added that there have been as few as three prosecutions for illegal voting during Youngkin's term -- none were for noncitizen voting.
"The reality is, Virginia elections are quite fair. They're run very well," Holsworth said. "Our local registrars are very committed to fair elections."
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech Professor Cayce Myers says while this case will likely have a resolution in court before the election -- challenges around this issue will continue beyond that.
"Election integrity has become such a huge national political issue," Myers said. "We will see lawsuits surrounding all of this, maybe not from the Department of Justice, but maybe from individual groups that are bringing these issues to the forefront."
Among what the DOJ is asking with the lawsuit is a court injunction to restore voters impacted and stop future voter roll purges leading up to the election.
The Justice Department is asking anyone who thinks they've been impacted by this order to reach out to its Civil Rights division.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have information to share.
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