Federal prosecutors on Friday sent letters to county registrars across California demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Justice Department says may belong to noncitizens.1
The letters give counties 48 hours to provide identifying information for the ballots in question and ask officials to sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified. According to the Los Angeles county registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. The Los Angeles county registrar and a letter obtained by the Associated Press were the sources for the demands, which represent the latest escalation in a legal battle between California and the Trump administration’s Justice Department.1
The letters follow a lawsuit the federal government filed earlier this month against Los Angeles County and the California secretary of state’s office. In that case, the government seeks to block the counting of votes from roughly 20,000 people it describes as “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday.1
On Thursday, the Justice Department asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene in the lawsuit and temporarily block California from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots that the Trump administration claims were cast by non-U.S. citizens. The request asked the appeals court to rule on the lawsuit before a decision from the district judge assigned to the case, and it set a deadline of Saturday.1,3
The Guardian described the lawsuit as aiming to block the counting of votes from roughly 20,000 people, while The Hill described more than 20,000 mail-in ballots. The Washington Times headline described the appeal as asking a court to order California to discard ballots from suspected noncitizens.1,3,4
“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said first assistant US attorney Bill Essayli. The Justice Department is asking counties for information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens, including Social Security numbers, identification information and a copy of their registration.1
A letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials said the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county. The letter said the information would help the government and the state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote.1
California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles county registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California argue that the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and could undermine the legitimacy of the November midterm elections. They also contend that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that the demands risk disenfranchising citizens.1
Voting is under way in California, where more than 23 million registered voters began receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that more than 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.1
The letters arrived on the heels of a statewide sweep by federal authorities earlier in the week. In that sweep, 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and with lying on naturalization paperwork, and those charges could lead to years in prison.1
The Daily Signal reported in an exclusive that an election integrity group is seeking records on what California has done with the Justice Department’s list of 20,000 potential noncitizens.5
The counties were given 48 hours to respond to the federal letters, and the government asked the appeals court to act by Saturday.1,3
The district court hearing in the lawsuit is set for Tuesday, while the appeals court request sought a ruling by Saturday.1,3
