Justice Department orders California counties to separate ballots
Sandego.net – Justice Department orders California counties to review voter records and set aside mail ballots linked to people federal authorities suspect may not be US citizens. The directive adds to growing federal involvement in California election administration ahead of the November midterm elections.
County election officials were told Friday to work with the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to assess the citizenship status of people identified in federal materials. The letters warned that knowingly counting ballots cast by noncitizens could carry criminal consequences.
“If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”
Ballots would be separated, not immediately canceled
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli wrote to officials in San Bernardino County. The request does not call for immediate removal of voter registrations. Instead, election offices are being asked to keep the affected mail ballots separate while citizenship questions are reviewed.
Justice Department orders California counties to act on federal eligibility concerns, but election administrators still must determine whether the information they receive is accurate before deciding whether a ballot can be counted.
Los Angeles County faced an earlier deadline
The latest letters follow an Oct. 13 demand from Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter to Los Angeles County and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. That letter gave officials 48 hours to review a federal list of people believed to be noncitizens who had received mail ballots for the November election.
McCotter said the government could seek emergency court action if officials did not comply. The material included a password-protected thumb drive containing names of people the administration considered potentially ineligible to vote.
Los Angeles County Clerk Dean C. Logan said the county has a duty to maintain reliable voter rolls, while stressing that eligibility decisions must rely on confirmed evidence rather than unverified database matches.
“Federal and state laws are clear on how voter eligibility is established – and any action to remove a voter from eligibility must be based on verifiable information, not assertions of unconfirmed data matching.”
Federal lawsuit challenges disputed mail ballots
The Justice Department sued California and Los Angeles County last week, seeking to halt the counting of more than 20,000 mail ballots associated with people the federal government believes may be noncitizens. A federal judge scheduled a hearing for next week, while the department also asked the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene sooner.
In court filings, the department argued that processing the disputed ballots without separating them could affect eligible citizens’ votes in a way that could not later be traced or corrected. Justice Department orders California counties have therefore placed courts at the center of a fast-moving disagreement over election procedures shortly before voting.
Why citizenship checks can be complicated
Only US citizens may vote in federal and state elections. California is among the states that allow noncitizens to vote in certain local or school board contests, however. That distinction can complicate comparisons between voter-registration lists and federal immigration records.
Databases can contain outdated, incomplete or mismatched records, meaning a name appearing in a data comparison does not by itself establish that a person is ineligible to vote. Election officials must balance review of possible eligibility issues with the need to avoid wrongly preventing eligible voters from having ballots counted.
The administration has repeatedly claimed that large numbers of noncitizens are registered to vote. President Donald Trump has long promoted unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud, and the current federal effort has renewed scrutiny of voter rolls in several states.
In August, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the department had identified 250,000 people it believed were noncitizens registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada. The figure was based on comparisons between voter files and federal immigration data.
California election FAQ
What happens if a ballot is set aside? Under the federal request, the ballot would be separated while officials review whether the voter is eligible. The request does not itself require immediate cancellation of a voter registration.
Can noncitizens vote in California? Noncitizens cannot vote in federal or state elections. California permits noncitizen voting in some local or school board contests, which can make broad voter-list comparisons more difficult.
Why are election officials seeking verified information? California officials have said voter eligibility determinations should be based on verifiable information, not unconfirmed data matches that may be incomplete or inaccurate.
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