Justice Department Orders California to Set Aside 'Likely' Noncitizen Ballots as State Pushes Back

Federal prosecutors have sent letters to county registrars across California demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice says may belong to noncitizens, according to the Los Angeles county registrar's office and a copy of one of the letters. Sent on Friday, the letters are the latest escalation in the administration's drive to root out noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections.

The move is a new chapter in the legal battle between California and President Donald Trump's Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state as Trump continues to make claims of voter fraud.

Data, however, shows that illegal voting by people who are not US citizens is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of any race. Even so, the administration's push has ignited controversy across the state.

Earlier this month, the federal government sued Los Angeles county and the California secretary of state's office, seeking to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people the government describes as 'likely' noncitizen voters. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Tuesday.

The Trump administration has asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on the lawsuit without waiting for a decision from the district judge assigned to the case, setting a deadline of Saturday. Pressure on the state's election officials is thus building both inside and outside the courtroom at the same time.

Now, according to the LA county registrar's office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. Counties have been given a 48-hour deadline to provide identifying information for ballots the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. Officials have also been told to sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli warned that any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy — a statement seen as adding further pressure on county officials.

The Justice Department is asking counties to send extensive information about the voters it suspects, including Social Security numbers, ID information and copies of their registrations. A letter sent to San Bernardino County officials says the information will help the government and the state assess each suspect quickly. According to that letter, the government's list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from that one county alone.

California's secretary of state and the Los Angeles county registrar have opposed the federal demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They argue that the federal government's data is unreliable and that its demands risk disenfranchising citizens.

Voting is already under way in California. The state's more than 23 million registered voters received ballots in the mail earlier this month, and state filings say over 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted. That raises practical questions about how an order to set ballots aside can be carried out at this stage.

The Friday letters followed a statewide sweep by federal authorities earlier in the week, in which 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork — charges that could lead to years in prison if proven.

California's election has thus become not only a contest of votes but also a battleground over federal and state power. What the court decides at Tuesday's hearing will shape the fate of some 20,000 voters' ballots and the next steps for election officials across the state.