With the November 3 election drawing near, federal prosecutors are pressing California counties to assist in reviewing the registrations of thousands of people suspected of being ineligible to vote.
The Trump administration has directed election officials throughout California to determine within 48 hours whether voters flagged as suspected noncitizens are eligible and to set aside their ballots. The move marks a dramatic expansion of federal involvement in election procedures just days before Americans cast their votes.
The Justice Department issued the demands on Friday, warning that local officials who declined to cooperate could face substantial federal scrutiny.
The intervention comes as President Donald Trump pursues a separate legal challenge in Alaska. There, his administration is seeking to stop certification of a pivotal Senate contest if the Republican incumbent is defeated.
Taken together, the actions signal a major broadening of the federal role in election administration. Democrats and voting rights groups say the efforts could amount to political interference and threaten confidence in the final results.
In California, the Justice Department’s latest request follows a lawsuit aimed at blocking the counting of ballots cast by more than 20,000 people whom the administration suspects may not be U.S. citizens.
California officials, however, argue that the federal data is flawed. They caution that the review could wrongly prevent eligible American voters from having their ballots counted.
Letters sent to counties across the heavily Democratic state give election administrators only 48 hours to verify the citizenship status of people identified by federal authorities.
President Trump is intensifying his administration’s election enforcement campaign days before the midterms, with federal officials demanding action over suspected noncitizen voters in California
Election workers handle mail-in ballots at the Registrar of Voters facility in San Diego, California, on Friday
When officials cannot promptly confirm a voter’s eligibility, the Justice Department wants the person’s mail ballot removed from the main batch and held for additional review.
The department instructed election workers to “segregate — not cancel” the ballots while the investigations remain underway.
Federal officials are also seeking sensitive personal records, such as Social Security numbers, identification details and voter registration documents.
Prosecutors warned that counties refusing to comply could face “significant federal scrutiny.”
Bill Essayli, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, issued a similarly forceful warning.
“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” he said.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said the effort was designed to “ensure the most secure election in California history.”
Federal prosecutors have likewise characterized the intervention as an effort to safeguard eligible voters, denying that it is intended to benefit either political party.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli warned California election officials of possible legal consequences if they knowingly counted ballots submitted by noncitizens
Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is battling to keep his Alaska seat as the Trump administration seeks to block certification of a Democratic win, citing concerns that a second candidate with the same name may confuse voters
Ballots are seen being sorted the day after California’s primary election in June of this year
‘We don’t care who you vote for,’ said Craig Missakian, the US attorney for California’s Northern District.
‘What we care about is making sure that every legitimate vote is counted, that we ensure a level playing field for all Americans.’
But the administration’s demands have already encountered resistance from election officials.
In Contra Costa County, where authorities received a list containing 407 names, officials said they would continue processing ballots normally rather than immediately setting them aside.
‘It’s 11 days from Election Day, and this is just not in line with regular precedents,’ county elections spokeswoman Dawn Kruger said to the New York Times.
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San Bernardino County received a list containing 1,133 names, while Santa Cruz County officials were asked to investigate 81 people.
Elsewhere, the government’s data appeared to raise immediate questions.
In rural Inyo County, election officials discovered that neither of the two individuals flagged by federal authorities had been issued a ballot.
Records also showed neither had previously voted in California.
In Mendocino County, officials said the names supplied by the Justice Department did not even belong to their jurisdiction.
‘It’s not our voters that were listed,’ county clerk-recorder Katrina Bartolomie said. ‘It’s from another county.’
Los Angeles County registrar Dean Logan accused federal authorities of adopting a ‘posture of intimidation,’ arguing that their intervention threatened local officials at a particularly sensitive moment.
California has more than 23 million registered voters, and more than 330,000 mail ballots had already been counted, according to state court filings.
Acting US Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter stands next to a display showing photos of people charged with illegally registering to vote during a news conference in LA on Monday
AG Todd Blanche insisted the DOJ had no intention of improperly interfering with the midterm elections, despite mounting concerns over its legal interventions in California and Alaska
Federal prosecutors announced earlier this week that 28 people identified through their investigation had been charged with offenses involving illegal registration, with some also accused of voting unlawfully.
Noncitizen voting is prohibited in federal elections, although research has consistently found it to be extremely rare.
Meanwhile, another election-related lawsuit is unfolding thousands of miles away in Alaska.
Trump acknowledged on Friday that he personally ordered his administration to pursue legal action that could prevent certification of the state’s Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses.
‘I’m the one that said do it,’ Trump told reporters before a campaign rally in Florida.
The dispute centers on another candidate, Daniel J Sullivan, whose nearly identical name Republicans fear could confuse voters and divert support from the incumbent in his contest against Democrat Mary Peltola.
The Justice Department wants Alaska prevented from certifying a Peltola victory while the second Sullivan remains on the ballot, pending an investigation into whether voters intended to support the Republican senator.
Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola accused the Trump administration of attempting to manipulate Alaska’s election after the DOJ sued to block certification of the race if she defeats Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan
President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks at a campaign rally at the Curtis D Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, Alaska on Tuesday
But Alaska’s Supreme Court has already rejected an attempt to remove the challenger, who insists he entered the race independently.
Even Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski criticized the federal intervention.
‘The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit,’ she wrote.
Peltola condemned the legal challenge as ‘just flagrant, flagrant corruption in my opinion,’ accusing her opponent of using Washington connections to influence the election.
The Justice Department maintains it is protecting voters from confusion and ensuring the election reflects their intentions.
Attorney General Todd Blanche has also denied that the California litigation is intended to obstruct certification of the midterms.
‘It is not DOJ’s intention to, and it’s never our intention to, improperly interfere with elections or the state certification process,’ he said Thursday.
