Supreme Court temporarily halts lower court ruling ordering 1,600 voters back on Virginia voter rolls

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to take up an emergency challenge from Virginia, temporarily halting a federal judge's decision that ordered it to reinstate hundreds of potential noncitizens to the state's voter rolls. 

"We are pleased by the Supreme Court's order today," Youngkin told Fox News in a statement following the decision, which he described as a "victory for commonsense and election fairness."

"I am grateful for the work of Attorney General Jason Miyares on this critical fight to protect the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens," he added.

That argument pitted the Department of Justice - which sued the state over its removal program earlier this month - against Youngkin, who insisted the state's process is "individualized" and conducted in accordance with state and federal law. 

Justice Department officials reiterated their argument Wednesday following the Supreme Court decision. 

"The Department brought this suit to ensure that every eligible American citizen can vote in our elections," they told Fox News in a statement. "We disagree with the Supreme Court's order."

With just days until the election, the court's decision is expected to be under the microscope.

Virginia's voter roll maintenance program was implemented in August and compares the state Department of Motor Vehicles' list of self-identified noncitizens to its list of registered voters. Individuals without citizenship were flagged and informed that their voter registration would be canceled unless they could prove their citizenship in 14 days.

Justice Department officials also cited concerns in their lawsuit that eligible votes may have incorrectly been removed from the rolls without adequate notice or with enough time to correct the mistake. 

Second, he argued that if the NVRA does apply, the state still has an "individualized process" of removing voters that is conducted by the Department of Motor Vehicles and directly by local registration offices.