DOJ gives California 48 hours to review alleged noncitizen voter list

The US Justice Department has given California officials 48 hours to review a list of alleged noncitizen voters or face legal action, according to two letters reviewed by Reuters. The letters, sent on Tuesday, are part of an effort by the Trump administration to find evidence of voter fraud ahead of the November 3 elections.

Demands for Ballot Segregation

Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter addressed the letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan. The Justice Department provided officials in Los Angeles County with a "password-protected thumb drive" containing names of people the federal government "believes are likely noncitizens" who were sent mail-in ballots from California.

The letters demand that the state refuse to send ballots to those on the list until their citizenship status is confirmed. For voters who have already received ballots, the letters stipulate that their ballots should be "segregated" once mailed back. Ballots already returned should not be tabulated "until citizenship has been determined."

"Allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes," McCotter wrote. The letters state that the federal government "will have no choice but to seek emergency relief" if state and county officials do not follow the instructions.

Legal and Administrative Context

Justice Department spokeswoman Kiersten Pels confirmed the existence of the letters, stating, "The department will take all necessary legal action to protect election integrity and ensure compliance with federal law."

The Justice Department has repeatedly claimed that voting by non-US citizens is widespread, despite multiple studies showing it is rare. In July, the department sent letters to chief election officials in all 50 states warning they could face criminal prosecution if they knowingly allowed noncitizens to remain on voter rolls. The department's Civil Rights Division has demanded nonpublic voter data from nearly all states. According to Reuters, the department has sued 30 Democratic- and Republican-led states that refused to hand over their rolls, but has lost 26 of those cases without winning one.

David Becker, a former DOJ voting section attorney who now advises election administrators, criticized the timing of the demand. "California’s voter lists are public, and this administration has had 21 months with total control of the federal government to review those public lists," Becker said. "California sent out mail ballots to all voters on Oct 5. One must question why the DOJ would violate its own rules about investigating elections close to Election Day, and over a week after they knew the state had already mailed ballots out, particularly when their past claims have been full of errors."

Scrutiny of Federal Data

The administration's claims regarding noncitizen voters have faced scrutiny. In August, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed DHS had identified 250,000 non-citizens registered to vote in four states, including California. However, in Nevada, DHS acknowledged that its initial claim of 15,900 non-citizen registrants was an unvetted preliminary finding, and that it had only "confirmed" 185 of them through manual review. Nevada officials later stated their own review found all 185 were citizens, a conclusion DHS disputes.

Reuters reported last month that the Department of Homeland Security was using a commercial data broker to find sensitive voter information, which experts warned could lead to citizens being falsely flagged as illegal voters. Federal prosecutors have also ramped up prosecutions of noncitizens for allegedly voting in past elections, touting 16 new criminal cases on Monday.

Why it matters

The letters mark an escalation of the Trump administration's attempts to pressure states over alleged voting by non-US citizens. California could be pivotal in deciding control of the US House of Representatives, especially after voters approved a new congressional map that heavily favors Democrats. Additionally, Los Angeles voters will weigh in on a ballot measure that would allow certain noncitizen legal residents to cast ballots in municipal elections. The Constitution gives states the primary job of running elections, though Congress can pass some regulations of the vote.

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Sources

• yahoo.com: Exclusive-US Justice Department threatens California over alleged noncitizen voters, letters show
• politico.com: DOJ demands California review voting rolls in two days, threatens legal action - POLITICO
• cnn.com: Trump administration escalates voter roll fight with threats against California election officials | CNN Politics

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.