California Leaders Push Back on Trump Administration Over Alleged Noncitizen Voting
California Attorney General Rob Bonta accuses the US Justice Department of politicizing the law after it demanded verification of about 20,000 suspected noncitizen ballots before the midterms. The dispute is in court, with an appeals court due to hear it on Tuesday.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Saturday sharply criticized the US Justice Department's actions on alleged noncitizen voting, saying the law is being “politicized and weaponized.” He said the department is acting at the direction of President Donald Trump. The US midterm elections are less than two weeks away, which has made the dispute over voter checks especially pressing.
Demand to check 20,000 ballots
Federal prosecutors called on California election officials to verify, within 48 hours, a list of about 20,000 ballots said to belong to suspected noncitizens. Noncitizen voting is extremely rare, but ahead of the midterms the Justice Department has stepped up prosecutions of people accused of voting illegally without US citizenship.
California election staff fear the directive could strip citizens of their voting rights. Los Angeles officials said this week that many of the people on the list were born in the United States. Bonta stressed that the department provided only a list of names without explaining why those people are supposedly ineligible, adding that he would gladly review such information if it existed.
Reaction from politicians
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on social media that the department sent counties lists including people who never voted, as well as voters from the wrong county. Congressman Pete Aguilar, who represents the south-west of San Bernardino County, said voter intimidation has no place in a democracy.
The Justice Department, for its part, asked every county election official to cooperate and supply information so the Department of Homeland Security can quickly verify citizenship status. It also recently charged 28 foreign nationals with fraudulently registering to vote. They are lawful permanent residents, who are not entitled to vote. Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, claimed California is mailing ballots to noncitizens.
Some state officials took no action on Friday's letters, citing the approaching election. That prompted a legal fight with the department, and an appeals court is set to hear the matter on Tuesday.
