Justice Department Orders California Counties to Identify Noncitizen Voters
Seven Lights
Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials identify registered voters the Justice Department believes are noncitizens and set aside and verify any corresponding ballots within 48 hours, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
The letters warned that election officials who fail to comply “risk significant federal scrutiny,” The Hill reported. At least 18 counties received the notices, the Los Angeles County registrar’s office said. The correspondence asks county officials to provide identifying information tied to ballots the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote, and to sequester any ballots whose citizenship cannot be verified.
“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney. NBC News reported that the department warned local officials of potential legal action if they did not cooperate.
The letters are the latest escalation in a legal fight between the state and the Justice Department, which has concentrated on California in its efforts to root out noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections. Earlier this month the federal government sued Los Angeles County and the California secretary of state’s office, seeking to block the counting of votes of more than 20,000 people it alleges are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Tuesday. On Friday the Trump administration asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule before the district judge assigned to the case decides, setting a deadline of Saturday.
Data on noncitizen voting shows such cases are rare, difficult to prove, and have not been shown to change the outcome of races. California officials have disputed the federal government’s voter-match methodology, arguing it sweeps in eligible citizens, including naturalised Americans, through flawed comparisons of driver licence and voter registration records.
The 48-hour deadline places county election offices, already counting mail ballots before the November midterms, under direct federal pressure. The registrar in Los Angeles County, the state’s largest, said the office was reviewing the letter and its legal obligations. A ruling in the pending lawsuit could determine whether the sequestered ballots are counted at all.