Supreme Court’s Silence on Virginia Voter Purge Sows Confusion

Voting rights advocates criticized the US Supreme Court’s decision to allow Virginia to remove an estimated 1,600 residents from its voter rolls on the eve of the election as a misuse of the oft-criticized shadow docket.

Three days after the appeal landed before the justices, the court’s conservative majority Wednesday stayed lower court rulings that said the state’s purge violated a federal law that mandates a “quiet period” prohibiting the systematic removal of voters from the rolls 90 days before an election.

The court’s three liberals noted their dissent. But none of the justices explained their reasoning.

Without an explanation, ...