The Justice Department is ramping up its conflict with California regarding access to voter rolls. They’re accusing state officials of blocking federal audits, which, according to California, threatens voter privacy and exceeds federal authority.
This dispute mainly involves how voter roll management works and the access to registration records rather than any specific fraud allegations concerning past California elections.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli from the Central District of California expressed on X that if California truly wants to instill trust in its elections, it should publicly share its records instead of keeping them private. He shared a letter from Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees federal voting rights law enforcement, to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, asking to inspect the voter rolls.
“What are they afraid of?” Essayli questioned.
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Mr. Dhillon’s letter followed a response from Mr. Weber’s office, which raised concerns over potential privacy issues regarding the state voter registration data that the federal government seeks. A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office stated, “Every federal court that has looked at this has ruled that the DOJ’s request violates federal law,” also adding, “We have done nothing illegal.”
Current legal filings in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals indicate that Mr. Weber’s office offered the Justice Department access to their voter registration database but that Mr. Dhillon rejected this and instead demanded an electronic copy of “every field” from the statewide voter list.
“We have significant concerns about how California manages its voter rolls,” Essayli mentioned, accusing the California Democratic Party of obstructing federal audits. He raised doubts over whether the state is promptly removing deceased individuals, voters who have relocated, and those disqualified due to felony convictions.
Additionally, Essayli pointed out that California permits certain first-time voters to verify their identity without a Social Security number or driver’s license, using documents like gym membership cards, employer IDs, or credit cards. His office believes this policy needs closer examination.
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He also highlighted California’s practice of allowing third parties to gather and submit ballots for voters, known as ballot harvesting, which has limited restrictions. This complicates tracking who actually received, filled out, and returned each ballot.
California’s Attorney General’s office countered Essayli’s claims, mentioning that the Justice Department already lost in district court and that the ongoing appeal is simply the federal government’s response to that loss.
A U.S. district judge dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit in January, remarking that they were seeking an unprecedented level of personal information from unredacted voter rolls, including details on about 23 million Californians. The judge added that the Justice Department can’t dismiss the constitutional separation of powers in its approach to federal election law.
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In a statement, a spokesperson from Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office noted that the DOJ has filed around 30 voter list lawsuits nationwide but lost all eight that had been resolved at that point.
The contention regarding federal access to California’s voter rolls arises amid increasing attention on maintaining those rolls from both President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Bob Grogan voiced concerns about potential voter fraud, particularly emphasizing mail-in voting’s vulnerabilities after a Democratic city official was cited for voting in his deceased mother’s name. He does acknowledge the necessity of mail-in voting in some circumstances while advocating for stricter tracking measures.
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Grogan stated that mail-in ballots are especially susceptible to fraud and should be secured, only distributed upon request, and verified before counting. Discussing the Illinois incident, he expressed concerns that if the list maintenance process was slower, the illegal vote could have been counted before being discovered. Unfortunately, he insists many states, particularly those governed by Democrats, are resisting logical safeguards, raising questions about the extent of other illegal votes slipping through the cracks.
Voter management issues are under increasing scrutiny across the country, particularly concerning deceased registrants.
In April, North Carolina election officials revealed that a federal database comparison had flagged about 34,000 deceased voters still on their rolls. Other local controversies have surfaced regarding deceased individuals appearing on registration lists and absentee voting records.
Republicans contend these issues highlight the need for transparent voter roll management. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters labeled New Jersey’s records as “eye-opening,” noting their party’s desire for voter roll maintenance information across most states.
The Justice Department is already embroiled in similar disputes in California, having sued the Orange County registrar last year for not providing records to eliminate noncitizens from voter registration lists. Dillon remarked that cleaning up California’s voter rolls by removing noncitizens is crucial for accuracy and preventing voter fraud.
