AMNA NAWAZ: Just days before Election Day,# the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the## state of Virginia will be able to continue# to purge people from the state's voter rolls.

The state has argued it's part of an effort to# remove noncitizens from the rolls.

But voting## rights advocates have found several U.S.# citizens were also removed from the rolls.

NPR's Jude Joffe-Block has# spoken with some of those voters.

She joins me now.

Jude, welcome to the "News Hour."

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK, NPR: No, thanks for joining us.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, the state of# Virginia has removed some 1,600## people from its voter rolls since August.

Why# was it doing that purging in the first place?

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: So all states have an obligation## to make sure that the voters on# their rolls are eligible to vote.

And what's really under debate here is how# Virginia went about doing that and when## Virginia did that.

So, Virginia has this# program under way to identify noncitizens## on the rolls.

But the argument being made# is that they aren't narrowly tailoring it## enough to only target noncitizens and that# it's happening too close to the election.

So, under federal law, there's a rule# under the National Voter Registration Act## that states have to stop this kind of voter# maintenance 90 days before an election.

But## Virginia says that doesn't apply here because# they're targeting noncitizens specifically.

But we have seen that this program# has ensnared U.S. citizens.

AMNA NAWAZ: So tell me about that.# You spoke to some of these folks who## say they are U.S. citizens, they were# erroneously removed from the rolls.

How did that happen and what happens for them now?

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: There's a pattern# where people have visited the DMV,## and they at some point there must# have made a mistake on a form where## they identified -- they marked a box# identifying themselves as noncitizens## somewhere in those forms.

We're not# really sure how exactly this happens.

But after that visit to the DMV, they got a letter# in the mail from their local election official,## saying, we think you might not be a# citizen.

Please affirm your citizenship.

We spoke to a voter, Nadra Wilson, who that# letter was sent to the wrong address.

It## got forwarded.

By the time she got it, the# deadline had already passed.

She was able## to re-register.

We spoke to another voter,# Rina Shaw.

She did get the letter in the## mail letting her know that she had to affirm# her citizenship.

And she did send it back.

But, even then, she was still not on the rolls.# And she was able to call and sort that out.

But## all of this does take time.

Both of those voters# did end up voting early this week, though.

AMNA NAWAZ: We spoke with Anna Dorman,# who's an attorney working with this## nonpartisan civil rights group called# Protect Democracy that helps voters## to restore their voter registration.# Here's what she had to say about this.

ANNA DORMAN, Protect Democracy: Especially within# the new citizen community, there's a lot of fear.## I have talked to people who have actually# already fixed the problem with the registrar## and affirmed their status and re-registered# who are still scared to vote, because they## think that they have gotten a communication# saying it might be illegal for them to do so.

There's another group of people who# are pretty indignant and frustrated## that this happened.

I spoke to one# voter who said, I'm supposed to## choose my elected officials.

They're not# supposed to choose whether I get to vote.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jude, even if it does end up being# legally sorted out for individual voters,## could this have some kind of# an impact on the election?

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: I think this is a small number# of people.

This is 1,600 who've been purged so## far in this election period, though there -- there# were actually people who were taken off the rolls## even before August through this same# program who -- and we know some of## those cases were eligible# U.S. citizens as well too.

Luckily, because Virginia does allow# same-day registration, a lot of these## people will hopefully realize that they can# still vote.

So, that is the silver lining here.

AMNA NAWAZ: Let me just pull back the# lens a little bit here, because this## idea of noncitizens voting has really been# elevated in Republican concerns, right,## despite the evidence that points to the fact that# this isn't really a big problem in the country.

So, does this effort that we saw in Virginia tie## in to those more national concerns# and conversation that we have seen?

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: It definitely does tie in.

This narrative has been a key talking point# this election season.

And we have seen other## states take aggressive actions right before# the election publicizing that they're taking## noncitizens off the rolls.

But really these# efforts have also ensnared U.S. citizens.

So,## that happened in Alabama, where more than# 2,000 -- at least more than 2,000 U.S. citizens## were swept up in an effort that was supposedly# targeting noncitizens on the Alabama voter rolls.

And election experts are suggesting that# this false narrative that large numbers## of noncitizens could vote could be# used to lay the groundwork to sow## doubt about the election and potentially# be used for future election challenges.

AMNA NAWAZ: NPR's Jude# Joffe-Block joining us tonight.

Jude, thank you for sharing your reporting# and your insights with us.

Appreciate it.

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: Thank you.