Virginia Registration and Cure Procedures

Lawsuit filed on behalf the Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) challenging two of Virginia’s election laws. The first challenged law requires voters to provide their full Social Security number (SSN) when registering to vote, which the plaintiffs argue violates the First and 14th Amendments as well as the Civil Rights Act and Privacy Act. The second challenged law creates an arbitrary deadline for curing absentee ballots: The state only guarantees a notice and opportunity to cure easily-fixable defects to voters whose ballots are received by the Friday before Election Day. The plaintiffs argue that this arbitrary notice cut-off denies procedural due process by failing to provide the same safeguards to all Virginians voting absentee in violation of the 14th Amendment, unduly burdens the right to vote in violation of the First and 14th Amendments and can lead to the disenfranchisement of voters who are not given notice of a curable defect with their ballot. The Republican Party of Virginia successfully intervened in the case as defendants in order to protect the challenged laws. Following motions to dismiss, the court dismissed the claims regarding the absentee ballot cure deadline while allowing the claims on the SSN requirement to move forward. On Oct. 20, the parties jointly agreed to dismiss the lawsuit.

Last updated: October 20, 2022 11:40 am EST