More than 20,000 noncitizens allegedly registered to vote as justice department sues california, claiming unlawful voter rolls
Lawsuit challenges voter rolls
The Justice Department filed suit Thursday, saying the federal government had identified more than 20,000 noncitizens unlawfully registered to vote. It accused California of failing to cooperate in addressing the alleged voter-roll problems.
Dispute over names and claims
In a letter to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, McCotter enclosed a password-protected thumb drive that he said held names compiled by the Department of Homeland Security. He gave the clerk’s office 48 hours to review the list.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the Justice Department had not provided the names. She also criticized the Trump administration over what she called “unsubstantiated claims” that California had 190,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls.
Federal cases over voter data
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has brought 31 lawsuits seeking unredacted copies of state voter rolls. The division says the goal is to ensure states maintain clean voter lists, and has also acknowledged plans to share the data with Homeland Security to screen for noncitizens. The Justice Department has lost 26 of those cases and has not won any of them so far.
Key points
- The Justice Department alleges more than 20,000 noncitizens are unlawfully registered to vote in California.
- Shirley Weber said the department had not supplied the names and disputed claims about 190,000 noncitizens.
- The suit seeks to pause counting certain mail ballots until voters’ citizenship can be determined.
- The department has lost 26 of its 31 lawsuits seeking unredacted state voter rolls.