Justice Department warns California election officials of possible prosecution over ballots
A letter raises the prospect of criminal investigation if officials knowingly count ballots cast by people federal agencies identify as noncitizens. California disputes the evidence behind the list.
The Justice Department warned California election officials on October 16 that knowingly counting ballots cast by people federal agencies identify as noncitizens could expose them to criminal investigation or prosecution, the Associated Press reported. The warning raises the stakes in a dispute over a federal list of 20,000 people ahead of the November 3 election; California officials say the government has not substantiated its claim about their citizenship.
What the Justice Department warned officials about
The letter came from Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general. It was addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office and copied to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, according to the AP. McCotter wrote that officials who knowingly tabulate ballots cast by people identified by federal agencies as noncitizens risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.
The warning concerns what officials knowingly do with ballots, while the underlying classification of the people on the federal list remains disputed. The government says those people were likely noncitizens who had been sent ballots for the November 3 election. Weber said the administration had provided no evidence supporting that claim, the AP reported.
How the list became a lawsuit
The letter followed a Justice Department lawsuit filed the previous day seeking to stop California from counting mail ballots associated with people the government identified as likely noncitizens until their immigration status could be confirmed. Before suing, federal officials delivered a password-protected drive with 20,000 names and gave California officials 48 hours to review it. They did not meet that deadline, according to the AP.
NPR reported that Los Angeles County objected to how the drive was secured, saying its password arrived on a Post-it note. Logan also said the review demanded by the department could violate election laws, including restrictions on removing voters from the rolls close to Election Day. Weber told the department she would not disenfranchise thousands of Californians based solely on what she called ‘unsupported and likely inaccurate’ accusations, according to NPR.
NPR reported that the federal government had not explained how it produced the figures. Its voting correspondent, Miles Parks, described concerns that matching incomplete voter records with imperfect immigration data can produce false positives. The reported list therefore does not establish that any of the 20,000 people is a noncitizen or has voted unlawfully.
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Sources and context
- DOJ says California officials who process ballots from suspected noncitizens risk prosecutionAssociated Press, republished by PBS NewsHour
- DOJ sues California to block the counting of mail-in ballots from alleged noncitizensNPR (Miles Parks and A Martínez), carried by WHRO
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.