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A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 5 OcTOber 2023

Youngkin administration says it's fixing issue that improperly

removed some voters from the rolls

By Sarah Rankin voting and the Youngkin
Associated Press administration does not
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — even know how many Vir-
Gov. Glenn Youngkin's ad- ginians they wrongfully
ministration said this week, purged from the voter
with early voting underway, rolls,” Aaron Mukerjee, who
that it is working to fix an is- serves as voter protection
sue that misclassified pro- director for the Democratic
bation violations as felonies Party of Virginia, said in a
and has led to an unknown statement.
number of eligible Virgin- The state party chair, Su-
ians being removed from san Swecker, called for an
the voter rolls. investigation into the "wea-
State election officials are ponized incompetence of
working with Virginia State the Youngkin administra-
Police to identify voters tion’s Department of Elec-
whose registration “may tions.”
have been canceled in er- Victoria LaCivita, a spokes-
ror” and begin the process woman for Republican At-
of having those people re- torney General Jason Mi-
instated, Andrea Gaines, a yares, said in a statement
spokeswoman for the De- that the office can't com-
partment of Elections, said ment on advice it has pro-
in a statement Wednesday. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., speaks to David Rubenstein during an interview hosted by the Eco- vided the elections depart-
“We are taking great care nomic Club of Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, in Washington. ment or state police.
to identify each person (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) "However, we are confi-
affected and working to The elections department, “became aware of the in- The American Civil Liberties dent that the matter is be-
reinstate their registration Gaines said, “was recently consistencies regarding the Union of Virginia also said ing resolved as quickly as
immediately,” said Susan informed that these files misclassification of proba- last week it had received possible," she said.
Beals, commissioner of the received from VSP may tion violations as felonies,” “troubling reports” of Vir- Corinne Geller, a spokes-
Department of Elections. contain probation violation the governor asked state ginians having their voting woman for the Virginia
Gaines said that as part of convictions." police to “correct the pro- rights revoked on the basis State Police, said the agen-
the routine process of keep- The department asked cess” and ordered a re- of technical probation vio- cy was making changes
ing an up-to-date voter list, state police to analyze their view. lations, something it called to the data it provided the
the department receives data to determine who “The Governor is commit- “unprecedented and un- Department of Elections.
a monthly file from Virginia may have been canceled ted to ensuring those that constitutional.” “At the request of the Vir-
State Police containing fel- in error. are eligible can vote and It's the second week of ear- ginia Department of Elec-
ony convictions. “Once that data is re- those affected will have ly voting in this year's hotly tions, and after consulting
In Virginia, a felony convic- ceived, ELECT will send their registration reinstat- contested legislative elec- with the Office of the Attor-
tion automatically results in those names to registrars" ed,” Porter said. tions. Every General Assem- ney General," Geller said,
the loss of a person’s civil to have those voters' reg- VPM, which first covered bly seat will be on the bal- the monthly Central Crimi-
rights, such as the right to istrations "reinstated imme- the administration's ac- lot in an election cycle that nal Records Exchange re-
vote, serve on a jury, run for diately,” Gaines' statement knowledgement of the is- will determine party control port “no longer contains
office and carry a firearm. said. sue, previously reported on of the Assembly, which is di- felony probation violation
The governor has the sole Macaulay Porter, a spokes- the case of an Arlington vided. charges to not inadver-
discretion to restore those woman for the Republi- County man who was taken Virginia Democrats said the tently disqualify individuals
civil rights, apart from fire- can governor, said in an off the voter rolls for a pro- episode was alarming. whose rights were previous-
arm rights, which can be emailed statement that bation violation before be- “It is unacceptable that we ly restored by the former
restored by a court. once Youngkin's office ing reinstated by a judge. are two weeks into early Governor.”q

Say goodbye to the COVID-19 vaccination

card. The CDC has stopped printing them

Now that COVID-19 vac- the CDC. their COVID-19 immuniza-
cines are not being distrib- Federal and local health tion records will need to
uted by the federal gov- officials don't expect the request them just like any
ernment, the U.S. Centers discontinuation of the other vaccine.
for Disease Control and cards to be a particularly Other states don't have the
Prevention has stopped big change, since the days same options, so it might
A nurse practitioner holds a COVID-19 vaccine card at a New printing new cards. of keeping them tucked in take longer to get your re-
York Health and Hospitals vaccine clinic in the Brooklyn borough The federal government purses and wallets to en- cords. There could also be
of New York on Jan. 10, 2021. shipped more than 980 mil- sure entry into festivals, bars gaps in state databases;
(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File) lion cards between late and restaurants are largely for example, if you were
By Devi Shastri demic document: The 2020, when the first vac- over. If you’ve held on to vaccinated by a federal
Associated Press ubiquitous white COVID-19 cines came out, through your card, it’s still valid as health provider, those re-
(AP) - It's the end of an era vaccination cards are be- May 10, according to the proof of vaccination. Oth- cords may be tracked in a
for a once-critical pan- ing phased out. latest available data from erwise, people who need separate system. q