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🧵The DOJ’s latest attack on voting rights could make it much easier to purge voters close to an election — and the Supreme Court might have the final say. Here's what you need to know👇

(2/8) BACKGROUND: A safeguard known as the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) bars states from carrying out systematic voter removals within 90 days of a federal election. This “quiet period” is meant to prevent eligible voters from being wrongly kicked off the rolls too close to Election Day.

(3/8) WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? In a new filing, the DOJ argues that the quiet period only protects against systematic voter purges. It does not block states from removing voters on an individualized basis if they’ve been flagged as ineligible by the federal government.

(4/8) Voting rights advocates are concerned that the DOJ’s theory could let federal officials and anti-voting groups do the list-building work first, then pressure states to carry out the removals individually. The Supreme Court could take up the issue next term.

(5/8) SCOTUS could also take on another lawsuit where Republicans are attempting to litigate a loophole into the law by interpreting the NVRA’s quiet period as allowing noncitizens to be systematically removed during those 90 days.

(6/8) The Supreme Court previously considered a similar question in 2024. In a shadow docket order, the court’s six conservative justices reinstated an executive order that launched a voter roll purge in Virginia just as the quiet period began.

(8/8) Election officials say the demands exceed the DOJ’s authority, threaten voter privacy and could fuel improper purges of eligible voters. The dispute could reach the Supreme Court, where a decision could have far-reaching consequences for elections across the country.