A Stafford, Virginia, man learned Thursday that his name has been purged from the state’s voter rolls.
State officials say voter roll purges are aimed at removing suspected noncitizens.
Zecarias Berhe said he’s been voting since he became a naturalized U.S. citizen decades ago.
“I was shocked to hear that,” Berhe said. “I said, ‘What human being would do that? Why would they do that?’”
Berhe said he got a call Thursday morning from a local advocacy group telling him his name had been removed from Virginia’s voter registration rolls.
Berhe is among 6,000 people to have their voter registration canceled before August, according to the nonprofit African Communities Together.
On Wednesday, a divided U.S. Supreme Court allowed Virginia to continue an effort to remove possible noncitizens from voter rolls. An executive order Aug. 7 removed an additional 1,600 people from the rolls.
Berhe, 74, said he has been proud to hold a U.S. passport since becoming a naturalized citizen after leaving his native Eritrea 50 years ago.
He said he’s lived a good life in Virginia — working hard, raising children and voting, which he considers an important civic responsibility.
“I don’t understand why they took it, because I’ve been voting … in Virginia for the last 30 years,” he said.
He said he did not receive a letter informing him about the purging of his voter registration.
He was grateful to learn those whose registrations were wrongly canceled could reregister and vote at an in-person polling place.
Opponents of Virginia’s efforts say they have strong potential to create confusion, particularly if poll workers are not adequately prepared to deal with the scenario.
Berhe said he will persist.
“My vote means everything to me,” he said. “It’s very important, because I say, always, one vote makes a big difference.”
Berhe plans to do in-person, early voting Saturday.
CORRECTION (Nov. 1, 2024, 5:47 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated its subject was among 1,600 people removed from Virginia voter rolls after an executive order Aug. 7. The nonprofit African Communities Together initially told News4 he was affected by the executive order. After our story aired, the organization learned he was among more than 6,000 people who Virginia identified as possible noncitizens and canceled their voter registrations before August. This article has been updated.
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