The Trump administration is stepping up its voter fraud crackdown less than three weeks before the November midterms, with a series of federal charges and a lawsuit against California over ballots linked to people the government says may be noncitizens. The Justice Department said Monday it had charged 28 people in California with election-related crimes. The announcement followed the department’s lawsuit against the state, which seeks a court order to stop ballots associated with more than 20,000 people it considers "likely" noncitizens from being counted.
California officials dispute the federal government’s claims and say its list is unverified. The dispute has also drawn threats against election workers. President Donald Trump has threatened California officials with jail over counting ballots tied to people the administration has flagged.
The Justice Department separately warned that local workers who knowingly process or tabulate ballots submitted by noncitizens could face investigation or prosecution. Newsweek has reached out to the Justice Department, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk for comment. The Justice Department said it has charged 113 people in 20 states with illegal voting and illegal registration offenses over the last seven weeks.
The cases involve allegations including noncitizens voting in federal elections, false claims of citizenship on voter registration forms and voting more than once. Recent department announcements show the pace of the enforcement push: These are allegations, not findings of guilt. The Justice Department says criminal complaints, indictments and information outline allegations; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
The DOJ lawsuit says federal officials identified more than 20,000 people on California’s voter rolls who they believe are likely noncitizens. It argues that the state should have set aside ballots connected to people on that list while checking their citizenship status. The department says California declined to do so.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the state had not been given enough information to verify the list and challenged the federal government’s demand. California officials have also said the state has safeguards to prevent noncitizens from registering to vote. The 28 people charged in California were identified by the DOJ as foreign nationals.
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