Why It Matters
Virginia’s approach to voter roll maintenance is emerging as a flashpoint in the lead-up to midterm elections, with competing legal and executive actions drawing new attention to how the state keeps its registration lists accurate. The outcome of both the Republican National Committee’s court intervention and Governor Abigail Spanberger’s executive directive could shape election administration procedures not only in Virginia but potentially in other states navigating similar disputes over list maintenance and voter eligibility verification.
Virginia holds off-year elections that make it a perennial testing ground for election policy, and the decisions made in the commonwealth often carry weight far beyond its borders.
What Happened
Governor Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Order 13 on March 24, directing state agencies to strengthen election security procedures and reenter the Electronic Registration Information Center, known as ERIC — a multistate data-sharing partnership that helps states identify outdated, duplicate, or otherwise inaccurate voter registrations.
The order requires the Virginia Department of Elections to certify annually that key security protocols are in place, including ballot handling procedures, voting machine testing and certification, and post-election accuracy checks. It also establishes clearer standards for how eligible voters are added to and removed from the rolls.
Simultaneously, the Republican National Committee moved to intervene in ongoing federal litigation related to Virginia’s earlier efforts to remove individuals identified as potential noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls. The RNC’s legal action is aimed at preserving those removal processes ahead of upcoming elections, placing the party in direct opposition to the administrative direction set by Spanberger’s office.
By the Numbers
- ERIC membership: The multistate compact includes roughly two dozen states that share data to help maintain accurate voter registration lists, though several Republican-led states have exited the program in recent years.
- Executive Order 13: Signed March 24, 2026, the order covers multiple areas of election administration including annual certification requirements for election security procedures.
- Election calendar: Virginia has expanded its voting days in 2026, a factor Spanberger cited as motivation for acting early on election security procedures.
- Timeline: With midterm elections approaching, both the RNC’s legal intervention and the executive order’s implementation are expected to move on parallel tracks through much of 2026.
- Prior removals: Virginia’s earlier noncitizen removal program, which occurred under former Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration, drew a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit that thrust the state’s voter roll practices into the national spotlight.
Zoom Out
Virginia’s voter roll dispute reflects a broader national debate over election list maintenance that has intensified in recent years. ERIC, once a broadly bipartisan tool for improving registration accuracy, has become politically contentious. Several Republican-led states including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, and West Virginia withdrew from the program between 2023 and 2024, citing concerns over data privacy and the organization’s governance structure.
At the same time, efforts to remove noncitizens from voter rolls have gained traction in Republican-governed states, with the Trump administration’s Department of Justice having previously taken an active interest in such programs. Virginia’s situation is notable because it involves both a Democratic governor using administrative tools to rejoin a data-sharing cooperative and a national party organization using the courts to preserve a removal process put in place by her Republican predecessor.
The dual tracks — executive action and federal litigation — illustrate how election administration has become a sustained arena of political competition rather than a technical or nonpartisan function of government.
What’s Next
The RNC’s motion to intervene in the noncitizen removal litigation will proceed through federal court, with a ruling on the intervention request expected in the coming weeks or months. If the court grants standing, the RNC would become a formal party to the case and could argue in favor of maintaining the removal procedures challenged in the original lawsuit.
On the executive side, Virginia’s Department of Elections will begin the process of rejoining ERIC and implementing the annual certification protocols outlined in Executive Order 13. Spanberger’s office has indicated the directives are intended to be in place well before Virginia’s next major election cycle.
Both developments are likely to draw continued scrutiny from national election law organizations, voting rights advocates, and Republican officials as Virginia’s 2026 election calendar advances.