Trump administration sues California over 20,000 suspected noncitizens on states voter rolls
The Trump administration filed a bombshell lawsuit against California for failing to review a list of more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens in the state who allegedly registered to vote in next month’s midterm election.The suit filed Thursday came two days after Justice Department officials ordered the state’s election bosses to review the list naming thousands of alleged noncitizens believed to be on the California’s voter rolls — giving them 48 hours to comply.The suit argues that DOJ has an obligation to intervene to prevent the state from permitting noncitizens to vote in federal elections.Under federal law, only US citizens are permitted vote in such elections.Federal officials supplied Los Angeles County with a password-protected thumb drive identifying suspected noncitizens who were sent mail-in ballots, according to letters sent Tuesday to Secretary of State Shirley Weber and LA County Clerk Dean Logan.Acting Deputy Attorney General R.
Trent McCotter warned Logan and Weber in the letter that they would face legal challenge if they failed to review the list in time.Representatives for Logan and Weber didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the suit.Justice Department officials told the California Post that immediate action is needed to ensure that noncitizens who received ballots do not vote in the upcoming election.“This should not be controversial, as the criminal statute is clear: only American citizens may vote in federal elections.
It is a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in US elections, and the DOJ is asking California to ensure that is not occurring,” the officials said.Logan confirmed in a statement that his office received the letter and the thumb drive, along with a “hand written note providing a password” to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls.He said he did not consider the thumb drive a secure device and hadn’t yet accessed any files.The letter, which Logan made public, does not s...