The Republican National Committee (RNC) is leading a lawsuit against Virginia, accusing the state of violating state law by allegedly accepting ballots from people who have never lived in the state.
Under federal law, military service members stationed overseas and their spouses are allowed to cast absentee ballots based upon the state of their last residence.
But a Virginia statute allows voters who have never lived in the state to cast a ballot based on Virginia being their parent’s last eligible voting location.
The lawsuit comes just months away from a contentious midterm election cycle as the Republican Party fights to keep control of both chambers of Congress.
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This lawsuit is the fourth filed by the RNC contesting loopholes in state laws that allow both children of military service members and children of former Virginia residents living abroad to vote in elections even if they have never lived in the state. In addition to Virginia, 27 other states permit „nonresidents“ to vote in both state and federal elections based on their parents’ last place of residence.
„The Virginia Constitution clearly states you must show proof of residency in order to vote in Virginia elections, so what we’re trying to do here at the RNC is make sure that Virginia elections are truly for Virginians and close that loophole where people who have never even lived in the state or sometimes even the country so they cannot register to vote in Virginia,“ RNC Election Integrity Communications Director Ally Triolo told Fox News Digital.
Roughly 2.8 million American citizens older than the age of 18 live abroad, according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program. It is unclear how many of them voted who have never lived in the United States, but the RNC said it is actively looking at state voter rolls.
The RNC, RITE PAC and conservative grassroots organizer Matthew Hurtt filed for injunctive relief in the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond, Virginia, against the Virginia State Board of Elections and the Virginia Department of Elections Monday.
„People who have never lived in Virginia — or even in the United States — should not be voting in Virginia’s elections,“ Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
„Virginia officials are ignoring the Virginia Constitution and allowing ineligible voters to cast ballots. The RNC and RITE PAC are taking this action to enforce the law and ensure nonresidents are not diluting the votes of Virginians.“
Hurtt, who also serves as the chairman of the Arlington GOP, referred Fox News Digital to an email he sent to Arlington GOP committee members, explaining why he joined the lawsuit.
„Through this lawsuit, we are asking the court to declare the relevant statutes unconstitutional and to require election officials to limit voting to individuals who meet Virginia’s residency requirements,“ Hurtt wrote.
„This effort is about ensuring that Virginia elections are conducted in accordance with the Constitution and that the rules governing voter eligibility are applied consistently and lawfully.“
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The lawsuit named seven elected officials as defendants as well, including Fairfax County, Virginia, Electoral Board General Registrar Eric Spicer. Fairfax, Virginia, GOP Chairman Steve Knotts previously praised Spicer for his efforts to strengthen election integrity in the county.
„Defendant Spicer has registered voters who stated on their registration forms: ‘I am a U.S. citizen living outside the country, I have never lived in the United States.’ This practice violates the Virginia Constitution,“ the lawsuit stated.
The RNC did not provide an estimate when Fox News Digital asked how many people may have voted this way in Virginia.
Similar lawsuits have been filed by the RNC against Michigan, Arizona and North Carolina over election officials counting ballots from „never residents.“
During litigation, state officials in North Carolina pointed to both the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), a federal law, and a state law, the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act (UMOVA), in support of allowing nonresidents to vote.
The UMOVA granted a provision allowing for individuals born overseas to former North Carolina residents to vote in the state.
But in April 2025, an appeals court in North Carolina ruled in favor of the RNC, determining that the state’s election board was violating the state Constitution by allowing voters who never lived in the state. State officials appealed the decision to North Carolina’s Supreme Court, but the case was dismissed.
„We fought this in North Carolina,“ Triolo said. „We had a successful win, and we have two more active cases fighting the same fight in Arizona and Michigan. We are committed at the RNC to stopping any abuse of our elections. We know that voters deserve free, fair, and secure elections. So the RNC is confident with its win that we already had on this issue. We’ll continue to see more wins moving forward.“
Triolo shared with Fox News Digital that the RNC has more than 120 active lawsuits across the country in its fight to close loopholes and strengthen election integrity.
„The RNC is fighting tooth and nail to protect the ballot box,“ Triolo said. „This is one of our key priorities here, which is ensuring that our elections are fair, they’re free, they’re transparent, they are secure.“
The Virginia Department of Elections declined to comment.
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