The United States Justice Department has warned election officials across California that they could face federal scrutiny and potential legal exposure if they fail to help verify the citizenship status of suspected noncitizens on voter rolls and set aside their mail ballots pending checks.
According to letters dated Friday and shared with Reuters, local officials were given 48 hours to help determine the citizenship status of individuals identified on federal government lists. The letters were signed by Bilal Essayli, first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California.
Essayli warned county officials that continuing to process ballots from individuals on the lists without verifying their citizenship status could expose them to “significant federal scrutiny and legal exposure”.
He also said officials who knowingly counted ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens could risk becoming “aiders and abettors to a federal crime”.
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Justice Department Lists Suspected Noncitizen Voters
The letters cited local figures from a previously distributed list of 20,000 people whom the Justice Department alleges are noncitizens registered to vote.
According to the department, the list includes:
Orange County: 1,754 individuals
Riverside County: 1,355
San Bernardino County: 1,133
Ventura County: 334
Santa Barbara County: 180
San Luis Obispo County: 63
A separate letter shared by Contra Costa County identified 407 people as “likely aliens” registered to vote.
For individuals whose citizenship status could not be confirmed, Essayli requested that county officials instruct election authorities to segregate their mail ballots rather than cancel them until their status could be determined.
Versions of the letters were sent to all 58 California counties, according to The New York Times.
Dawn Kruger, a spokesperson for Contra Costa County’s Elections Department, said the letter arrived just 11 days before Election Day and imposed what she described as an unenforceable 48-hour deadline.
“Our office is conducting this election in accordance with federal and state laws and that is what we will continue to do,” Kruger said.
California Officials Reject Federal Demand
California officials have challenged the Justice Department’s demands, arguing that federal authorities have not provided sufficient information to substantiate the identification of suspected noncitizens.
On Saturday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused the department of politicising law enforcement to target opponents of President Donald Trump.
“It is once again the United States Department of Justice politicising and weaponising the law to attack its enemies, and it is completely improper,” Bonta told MS Now.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has also accused the administration of seeking unlawful access to protected voter data and attempting to purge voter rolls. She warned that such efforts could undermine public confidence in elections.
Dispute Intensifies Ahead of Midterm Elections
The dispute comes less than two weeks before the US midterm elections, as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to investigate alleged noncitizen voting.
The White House has pushed federal agencies to accelerate reviews of at least 47 state voter rolls obtained by the Department of Homeland Security, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters.
On October 16, the Justice Department warned Los Angeles County and California election officials that they could face liability if they counted mail ballots returned by more than 20,000 people whom the administration suspects of being noncitizens.
The warning followed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration seeking a federal court order to prevent California from counting ballots from those individuals. The Justice Department subsequently asked the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to intervene in the case.
The administration has also increased prosecutions of individuals accused of voting illegally while not holding US citizenship.
The dispute centres on how federal authorities identify suspected noncitizens, what evidence is required to establish voter eligibility and whether election officials can be compelled to segregate ballots before citizenship status has been confirmed.
California officials maintain that elections must be administered in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, while the Justice Department has warned of potential legal consequences for officials who disregard its demands.
