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Justice Department sues California over mail ballots it says went to likely noncitizens
The Justice Department sued California on Thursday in federal court, saying more than 20,000 likely noncitizens are registered to vote and were sent mail ballots. It asks a judge to have those ballots set aside, not canceled, until each voter's citizenship is determined. California officials call the effort unlawful, and Los Angeles County declined to open a thumb drive of names the department sent.
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How each side sees it
The Justice Department saysAttorney General Todd Blanche said "state-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable." The department says it asked California to work together to identify noncitizens and that it is not seeking to purge rolls or cancel votes, only to set questioned ballots aside until citizenship is checked.
California officials saySecretary of State Shirley Weber says the department's efforts are unlawful and "serve only to cause chaos and fuel public distrust," and that state law already limits registration to citizens. Gov. Gavin Newsom called the suit an attempt to suppress voters three weeks before Election Day.
Sources
- CBS News: Justice Department sues California over mail ballots
- ABC News: DOJ sues California over alleged non-citizens on voter rolls
- Al Jazeera: Trump administration sues California over voter rolls
- The Daily Signal: Justice Dept. sues California over noncitizen voter rolls
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