The U.S. Justice Department has threatened to seek emergency legal action against California election officials unless they act by noon Eastern time on Oct. 15 to prevent suspected noncitizens from voting in the Nov. 3 election, a demand that state and Los Angeles County officials are resisting.
In letters sent Tuesday, Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter ordered California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan to review a list of potentially ineligible voters within 48 hours. The DOJ told officials to set aside ballots from people whose citizenship cannot be confirmed, warning it would pursue emergency court relief if the deadline passes without action.
A DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital that thousands of potential foreign nationals ineligible to vote have turned up on California’s voter rolls statewide, not only in Los Angeles County.
“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 U.S. elections, and the DOJ is asking California to ensure that is not occurring,” the spokesperson said.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, rejected the DOJ’s claims at a news conference Wednesday, accusing the Trump administration of trying to intimidate voters with unfounded fraud allegations.
“There is no widespread voter preference, voter fraud problem. It doesn’t exist. It is a lie. It is a conspiracy theory,” Bonta said.
Bonta said his office is coordinating with the secretary of state and Los Angeles County officials to determine how to respond.
Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar, said his office received a password-protected USB drive said to contain voter records but has not opened it due to cybersecurity concerns.
“We have not accessed the drive because doing so would conflict with established data privacy and information security protocols. We do not consider the device a secure medium. Additionally, the letter does not specify the number of individuals involved or describe the information contained in the records,” Logan said.
The standoff is unfolding as Californians are already voting ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Federal law bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections, but the Justice Department has not shown that any of the people it has identified actually cast ballots.
