The U.S. Department of Justice is giving California a 48-hour deadline to examine a list of registered voters who are believed to be noncitizens, or else they may face legal consequences, as reported by Reuters.
In a letter reviewed by the news outlet, Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter, addressed to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, indicated that the Justice Department had provided officials in Los Angeles County with a “password-protected thumb drive” containing names of individuals who received mail-in ballots and whom the federal government suspects are likely noncitizens.
The letter stipulates that the state must refrain from sending ballots to those individuals until their citizenship has been verified. Moreover, any ballots that have already been mailed to voters on this list should be set aside upon their return and not counted until their citizenship status is confirmed, according to Reuters.
If California officials do not adhere to these directives within the specified timeframe, the federal government indicated it may need to pursue emergency legal remedies.
“Allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes,” McCotter stated.
Kiersten Pels, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, confirmed the issuance of the letter in a statement, asserting that the department would take all necessary legal actions to uphold election integrity and ensure adherence to federal law.
Previously, in July, Department of Homeland Security Secretary MarkWayne Mullin mentioned that his department had contacted the secretaries of state in four states, warning them that tens of thousands of noncitizens seemed to be included on their voter rolls. California had the highest estimate, with approximately 190,832 noncitizens registered to vote, followed by New Jersey, which had around 35,152.
At that time, states were given a two-week window to confirm their commitment to complying with the DHS to safeguard their elections.
