Justice Department Pressures California Counties Over Noncitizen Voter Lists Ahead of Midterms
The United States Department of Justice has warned election officials across all 58 California counties that they could face federal scrutiny if they refuse to help identify suspected noncitizens on voter rolls and segregate their mail-in ballots. The directive arrives less than two weeks before the upcoming midterm elections, escalating a tense legal and political battle between the federal government and state election authorities.
According to letters sent to local officials, the counties were given 48 hours to help determine the citizenship status of individuals featured on federal government lists. The correspondence cautioned that local jurisdictions could confront significant federal oversight and investigation if they failed to comply with the directive.
The communications included specific lists of individuals whom the Justice Department alleges are illegally registered to vote. Officials described these names as a subset of roughly 20,000 people across California identified as potential noncitizens who may have received mail-in ballots. For voters whose citizenship status cannot be immediately verified, the letters requested that local election officials segregate—rather than cancel—the vote-by-mail ballots until citizenship can be definitively determined.
Neither the Justice Department nor the California attorney general’s office immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the letters.
The administration has intensified scrutiny surrounding voter rolls nationwide in the weeks leading up to the midterms, stepping up prosecutions of individuals accused of unlawfully voting without U.S. citizenship. Meanwhile, an internal email reviewed by reporters indicates that the White House has urged federal agencies to expedite reviews of at least 47 state voter rolls acquired by the Department of Homeland Security.
Earlier in the month, on October 16, federal authorities cautioned Los Angeles County and broader California election officials that they could potentially be held liable as abettors of a federal crime if they process and count mail-in ballots returned by the more than 20,000 individuals flagged by the administration.
California state officials have strongly rejected the federal demands, arguing that the administration has failed to provide adequate information explaining how it identified the alleged noncitizens. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber criticized the federal push, accusing the administration of attempting to unlawfully access protected voter data and purge voter rolls in a manner that undermines public confidence in the electoral process.
