NewzThe Trump administration sued California election officials Thursday, asking a judge to bar the state from counting mail-in ballots for next month's midterm elections from people the federal government has identified as "likely" noncitizens until their status can be confirmed. The Justice Department sued California, alleging that the federal government has identified more than 20,000 noncitizens who are unlawfully registered to vote. (AP) — The Trump administration sued California election officials Thursday, asking a judge to bar the state from counting mail-in ballots for next month's midterm elections from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed.
The lawsuit comes after the Justice Department said California officials [...] The state mails ballots to all registered voters. A top Justice Department official had sent a letter earlier this week threatening potential legal action if California didn't comply.California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a letter to the Justice Department that the federal government hasn't provided evidence to support its allegation that 20,000 names on the state's voter rolls are of noncitizens.
She referenced an instance in which the federal government alleged nearly 16,000 possible noncitizens were listed on Nevada's voter rolls, but the state determined that all were, in fact, U.S. citizens.She also noted that voting is already underway in the state. Weber, a Democrat, said the Justice Department was “demanding unprecedented measures that threaten thousands of Californians’ right to vote, based on unverifiable information or methodology that you still fail to explain or provide.”California's elections are in “full compliance” with federal law, she added.Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said in a statement that his office received the letter and thumb drive this week, along with a “hand written note providing a password” to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls.
He said he did not consider the thumb drive a secure device. The secretary of state’s office said the password was written “on a sticky note."The Justice Department's lawsuit says the federal government sought to “work collaboratively” with California to identify noncitizens registered to vote in the state, and “California made no serious effort to do so.”“The United States thus seeks commonplace election relief when a ballot is called into question,” the lawsuit says. "This Court should enjoin California from presently tabulating vote by-mail ballots from likel…
If found responsible in a court of law, the State of California will have seriously undermined confidence in our electoral system and violated laws that protect our nations representative system of government. The Department of Justice will continue working to uncover cases of voter fraud, hold fraudsters accountable, and restore trust in American elections.California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement in response:This is a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day.
The courts have made clear that the federal government has no role in how a state carries out its election process, and now, in the middle of Californians voting, they have asked local officials who do a damn good job defending democracy to violate federal law. A totally unprecedented request that should scare the hell out of every American. We will continue to carry out free and fair elections in the Golden State and call out this authoritarian as he tries every play in the dictator's playbook.Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said in a statement that his office received the letter and thumb drive this week, along with a hand written note providing a password to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls.
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