An election integrity expert raised concerns Wednesday about California and Washington after the Justice Department identified thousands of suspected noncitizen voter registrations, including cases in which residents told officials they were not U.S. citizens yet were still registered to vote. In an interview with Fox News Digital, J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, blamed the states’ automatic voter registration systems and local officials’ refusal to use available federal tools to verify citizenship.
"Noncitizens are getting on the rolls all over the country through the motor voter program. They're going into (the) DMV/ Sometimes they're even telling the DMV they’re not citizens, and states are still registering them to vote," Adams said. "That's why aliens are getting on the rolls in states like Washington and California that have automatic voter registration." FEDERAL OFFICIALS IDENTIFY 400 NONCITIZENS REGISTERED TO VOTE IN WASHINGTON STATE: 'TIP OF THE ICEBERG' California and Washington both require U.S. citizenship to register to vote, though their automatic voter registration systems differ.
California DMV customers who indicate they are eligible to vote can be automatically registered, while Washington's automatic registration through the Department of Licensing is tied to transactions requiring proof of U.S. citizenship, such as obtaining an enhanced driver's license or ID. However, federal officials said they identified more than 20,000 likely noncitizens on California voter rolls, many with addresses in Los Angeles County, and more than 400 suspected cases in Washington. The findings come just ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Washington Secretary of State Steve R. Hobbs pushed back against the Justice Department on Wednesday, criticizing its findings for containing "several glaring deficiencies." The list included U.S. citizens and individuals who are not currently registered to vote, Hobbs said. "Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot.
If you have individualized proof, I invite you to provide it so election officials can take appropriate steps that are consistent with federal and state law," Hobbs said. The California secretary of state also pushed back last week, saying a review of the DOJ’s data on Los Angeles County found "significant accuracy problems with their sweeping claims." "At best, this litigation is a reckless political stunt. At worst, it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians this election," the office said.
DOJ HAS VERIFIED 20,000 NONCITIZENS ON CALIFORNIA VOTER ROLLS, FEDERAL PROSECUTOR SAYS Adams also blamed election officials for refusing to use the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to identify noncitizens on voter rolls. He described SAVE as the "best database there is for aliens" that is "just sitting there waiting for them to use." "They don't want to check. They don't have to check.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
