The Justice Department has issued California a 48-hour deadline to review a federal list of individuals it believes are noncitizens who received mail-in ballots for the November 3 midterms, and to segregate those ballots, or face emergency relief.
In letters sent Tuesday, Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter told Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan that federal officials had delivered a password-protected thumb drive containing names the government “believes are likely noncitizens” who were sent vote-by-mail ballots. The password was provided on a sticky note. The exact number of names on the list was not disclosed.
McCotter demanded the state determine within 48 hours whether any U.S. citizens appear on the list. For anyone whose citizenship cannot be independently verified, local officials must segregate returned mail ballots and refrain from counting them until status is confirmed. Officials must also withhold ballots from anyone on the list who has not yet received one. Some reporting notes the letters also directed officials to work with the Department of Homeland Security to verify citizenship.
“If you cannot implement this process by then, given the ongoing federal election, the United States will have no choice but to seek emergency relief,” the letter states. “Allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes.”
California automatically mails ballots to every registered voter.
