The Virginia governor’s office is moving forward with what it says is an “unprecedented” Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit in response to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to purge non-citizens from his voter rolls.

The DOJ alleges that Youngkin violated the National Voter Registration Act with an executive order requiring the election commissioner to regularly update the state’s voter rolls to remove people “identified as non-citizens” rather than in response to a request had responded to verify their citizenship in 14 days.

Virginia announced that more than 6,000 people were expelled between January 2022 and July 2024.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice on September 24, 2024 in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The complaint says federal law requires states to complete their maintenance program no later than 90 days before an election under a provision called the “Quiet Period Provision.” The complaint states that voters were identified as possible non-citizens if they answered “no” to questions about their citizenship status on certain forms filed with the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

“This systematic voter removal program conducted by the State within 90 days of the upcoming federal election violates the quiet period provision,” the DOJ said.

The Justice Department is seeking a preliminary injunction that would “restore affected electors’ ability to vote freely on Election Day” and “prohibit future violations of the quiet period,” the DOJ said in a statement.

DOJ is suing Virginia for allegedly removing non-citizens from voter rolls too close to the election

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. (Reuters/Jeenah Moon)

However, in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital, the governor’s office called the DOJ’s move an “unprecedented lawsuit” targeting the state “for adequately enforcing a Virginia law signed by then-Governor Tim Kaine in 2006.” “requires Virginia to remove non-citizens from voter rolls – a process that begins when a person self-indicates in a DMV transaction that they are not a citizen.”

The memo was written by Richard Cullen, the governor’s adviser, and says the trial in Virginia took place under both Republican and Democratic governors. It also argues that the 90-day grace period is not relevant “since Virginia conducts an individual—not systematic—review pursuant to Virginia law to correct registration records.”

It also says the process is mandated by law and is not subject to the governor’s discretion. The memo also states that individuals will be notified of their cancellation twice by mail and email and that the state is also offering same-day voter registration if someone has falsely indicated that they are not a citizen. Youngkin previously called the lawsuit “a desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of elections in the Commonwealth, the true crucible of American democracy.”

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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Virginia’s order and subsequent lawsuit are the latest clashes over concerns about possible anti-citizen voting by Republicans and possible disenfranchisement by Democrats and the administration.

The Justice Department sued Alabama last month over the state’s purge of alleged noncitizen voters.

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Meanwhile, dozens of lawmakers in the House and Senate asked the Justice Department for more information about what they viewed as a “serious threat” to election integrity from the potential for non-citizen voting.

In August, Republican lawmakers pushed for the SAVE Act, which aims to require states to obtain proof of citizenship in person when registering a person to vote and requires states to remove non-citizens from voter rolls, to become law Extension of the spending bill to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year.

The Justice Department itself recently announced that it had charged an illegal immigrant with theft Identity of a US citizen voting in multiple elections and fraudulently obtaining a U.S. passport.

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.