Justice Department charges 28 in California election crimes sweep
Federal authorities say 11 people were arrested in a statewide operation. The allegations come amid a dispute with California over voter rolls and mail ballots.
The Justice Department announced on October 19 that 28 lawful permanent residents had been charged with federal election-related crimes in California and 11 had been arrested. The allegations include fraudulent voter registration and voting, bringing criminal cases into an escalating federal dispute with the state over voter rolls and mail ballots.
The department said the defendants are not U.S. citizens and therefore cannot vote in U.S. elections. It accused them of making false statements in naturalization applications and said some also face fraudulent voter-registration charges. It alleged that most had cast ballots obtained through fraud. Those claims are accusations: the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
How the California arrests fit the ballot dispute
The arrests were part of Operation Protect the Vote, which the department described as a coordinated effort by California's four U.S. Attorney's Offices. The department said the defendants were expected to make initial federal court appearances that afternoon, with no pleas to be taken then. The two types of felony charge identified in its announcement each carry a maximum five-year prison sentence.
The new charges follow the department's October 16 warning to California election officials about knowingly processing ballots cast by noncitizens. The Associated Press reported that the warning came after a federal lawsuit against the state over ballots associated with people the government identified as likely noncitizens.
The Justice Department said it gave California a list of the people in the criminal cases on October 13 and asked that their mail ballots be set aside until their citizenship status could be checked. It said the state declined and that the federal government sued. Separately, AP reported that a broader federal list contained 20,000 people the government considered likely noncitizens who had been sent ballots for the November 3 election. California's secretary of state said the administration had provided no evidence supporting that broader claim, according to AP.
California mails ballots to all registered voters. The federal-state clash is unfolding ahead of the November 3 midterm election, but AP reported that data shows noncitizen voting is rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change an election outcome.
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Sources and context
- Justice Department Charges 28 Foreign Nationals in California for Election CrimesU.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs
- Justice Department charges more than 2 dozen foreign nationals in California sweep targeting noncitizen votersAssociated Press, republished by PBS NewsHour (by Safiyah Riddle; AP writer Eric Tucker contributed)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.