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Governor Glenn Youngkin Breaks Ground on New River Valley Rail Project

Governor Glenn Youngkin today broke ground on the highly-anticipated New River Valley Rail Project in Christiansburg, Virginia. As part of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority’s (VPRA) Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) initiative, the New River Valley Project encompasses railroad infrastructure upgrades that will allow VPRA to extend its Amtrak Virginia service from Roanoke to Christiansburg and return passenger rail service to the New River Valley for the first time since 1979. 

In deepening Va. GOP crisis, Reid accuses Youngkin PAC of extortion. Is a legal battle ahead?

The internal drama roiling Virginia Republicans deepened over the weekend as John Reid, the party’s embattled nominee for lieutenant governor, accused Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political action committee of extortion — escalating an already explosive rift just months before November’s elections.

Pat Herrity withdraws from the race for lieutenant governor citing health concerns

He announced Monday that he was withdrawing from the race for health reasons. Pat Herrity had been considered the frontrunner in the Republican Party's nomination of lieutenant governor.

Senate Democrats move to Change Voter Roll Removal Laws Again

Last August, just 90 days before Election Day, Gov. appeared on Fox News to defend the removal of voters from the rolls who were believed to be non-U.S. citizens — a move that sparked immediate backlash and a lawsuit. Critics argued the , dated Aug. 7, violated federal law, which prohibits most voter roll purges within 90 days of an election. 

Youngkin maintained at the time that his actions were in line with a 2006 Virginia law allowing such removals. That state law directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide data to the State Board of for individuals who fail to indicate U.S. citizenship on their paperwork. 

Under the process, those flagged are sent notifications requesting documentation to confirm their citizenship, with removals occurring monthly. However, Youngkin’s 2024 executive order accelerated the process to daily purges, raising concern about its impact on voters. 

Now, Sen. , D- Beach, is leading an effort to address the controversy and assure compliance with federal law. On Monday, the Senate passed his proposal to clarify the federal 90-day threshold for voter roll removals and extend the response time for flagged individuals to contest their potential purge.  

Rouse’s bill would increase the response time from 14 days to 28 days after a notice is mailed to the individual. 

“A key word there is ‘mailed to them,’” Rouse said, highlighting the ongoing issues with slow delivery. “I think we all understand that mail has been quite slow these days.” 

When asked last year if might revisit the 2006 voter roll cleanup law, Rouse emphasized the importance of adhering to the federally mandated 90–day quiet period to protect voters. 

The bill has garnered support from groups like the Virginia Coalition for Immigrants Rights. Director Monica Sarmiento highlighted the importance of the legislation, noting that some naturalized citizens were wrongfully removed from the last year. 

However, the proposal faced opposition from Melody Clark of Virginia Institute Action, who argued the changes would strain local election officials. “Rolls cannot be cleaned up” within a smaller time frame she said, adding that the extensions would make it “difficult for our registrars.” 

The proposal has successfully cleared the Senate by a 20-18 vote but must pass the before heading to the .

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Originally written for VirginiaMercury and it originally published as Senate Democrats move to Change Voter Roll Removal Laws Again

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