The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened legal action against California, alleging that noncitizens may have received mail-in ballots for the upcoming election. Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter sent letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan demanding a review of a list of potential noncitizens identified by the federal government. The Justice Department provided a password-protected thumb drive containing the list and requested that election officials segregate, but not cancel, the ballots of those individuals until their citizenship status is verified.
The letters demand that California officials review the list by noon on Thursday. McCotter stated in the letters that allowing noncitizens to vote “cancels citizen votes” and that states are responsible for voter registration while the federal government maintains immigration records to enable verification. The Justice Department asserts that it is a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections and that California law automatically sent ballots to all registered voters starting October 5.
This action comes amid a broader campaign by the Trump administration to focus on what voting experts describe as a rare occurrence of noncitizen voting. Election officials in Georgia, Connecticut, Nevada, and Washington state have also received federal subpoenas for election records in recent months. Some officials expressed concern that these actions may be laying the groundwork for post-election legal challenges. The Justice Department spokesperson stated that the request for review should not be controversial, given the existing criminal statute prohibiting noncitizen voting. Weber and Logan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Our reading is that the Justice Department is actively pursuing a narrow investigation into potential voter fraud in California, despite acknowledging it is a rare occurrence. The demand for a rapid review, coupled with the provision of a specific list of potential noncitizens, suggests a pre-determined focus. The timing and scope of this action, alongside similar efforts in other states, raise the possibility of laying the groundwork for legal challenges to the election results, as some election officials have already expressed concern.
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