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A Stafford, Virginia, man learned Thursday that his name has been purged from the state’s voter rolls.
State officials say the purge is aimed at removing suspected noncitizens from the rolls, but 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 was among about 1,600 removed from Virginia’s voter registration rolls.
On Wednesday, a divided U.S. Supreme Court allowed Virginia to continue the purge effort.
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 move say that has 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.
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