Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general, said the Justice Department would press its case against California as it charged 28 noncitizens with election crimes on Monday. All were green-card holders, and federal authorities said more than two dozen foreign nationals had been arrested in California on allegations that they illegally registered and voted in US elections.
“This Department of Justice will not look the other way while noncitizens vote in federal elections. Unfortunately the same can't be said for California and L.A. County,” McCotter said at a press conference on Monday.
The charges form part of a Trump administration campaign targeting noncitizen voting before next month's midterm elections. The offences alleged include false statements on naturalisation applications and fraudulent voter registrations.
Some of those charged do not appear to have voted, while some registered more than 20 years ago.
The California cases followed seven weeks in which the Justice Department charged 113 noncitizens across 20 states with voting and registration crimes. Before Monday, the department had charged about 90 people this year with various forms of election misconduct, including 50 people alleged to have voted as noncitizens.
Each of the 28 people charged on Monday appeared on a list of 20,000 names that the department gave California officials last week. The list, on a password-protected thumb drive, identified people the federal government says are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots for the 3 November election. Officials were given 48 hours to review it.
The department has also asked a federal court on an emergency basis to stop California processing ballots returned by people on the voter rolls whom it says are likely noncitizens.
Its warning came in a Friday letter from McCotter, who said officials could face criminal prosecution if they knowingly processed ballots cast by people identified by federal agencies as noncitizens. “Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” the letter said.
California officials have rejected the demands. Shirley Weber, the California secretary of state, wrote to McCotter on 13 October: “The extraordinary measures you demand are contrary to both federal and state law.”
Peter Bollinger, Los Angeles County's assistant county counsel, wrote on 15 October that “we are not authorized to, or are prohibited from, taking the actions requested in your letter under both federal and state law.”
Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar, said his office remained focused on a fair and secure election, with Election Day a mere 18 days away. “The U.S. Department of Justice has chosen to litigate their unverified assertions of voting eligibility. At this point, it is best for this to be addressed in court,” he said.
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