DOJ Warns Los Angeles County on Noncitizen Voting Risks

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has stepped up its scrutiny over voting practices in California. A recent letter addressed to election officials in Los Angeles County emphasizes that permitting noncitizens to vote could expose them to criminal investigations and potential prosecution.

In a firm message sent on Friday, U.S. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter reminded Assistant County Counsel Peter M. Bollinger about a dataset provided to the county. This dataset reportedly identifies over 20,000 individuals whom federal agencies believe might be noncitizens registered to vote in the state.

“The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant,” McCotter stated. “Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime—and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful.”

The letter referenced federal laws against noncitizen voting and highlighted the prohibition against aiding in federal offenses.

Rather than requesting Los Angeles officials to confirm individuals’ immigration statuses or to cleanse voter rolls, the DOJ asked for ballots from individuals on the provided list to be temporarily separated until there’s clear verification of their citizenship and voting eligibility.

The DOJ also noted that California’s standard voting procedures, which permit voters to assert their own eligibility, cannot take precedence over federal laws, especially since there’s evidence suggesting illegal voter registration may have taken place.

“Your assertion that ballots must be counted simply because California’s registration system relies on self-attestation does not relieve election officials of their obligations under federal law when they are on actual notice of noncitizen voting,” McCotter explained. “Nor can state procedures supersede federal criminal statutes.”

Additionally, McCotter challenged the state’s reliance on the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), specifically its “quiet period,” which limits voter-list maintenance to 90 days. He asserted that this limitation does not apply in targeted investigations where there’s identifiable evidence of unlawful voting.

“Invoking the NVRA to justify counting ballots unlawfully cast is both legally incorrect and operationally irresponsible,” he remarked.

“Furthermore, the logistical challenges, timing factors, or the fact that some individuals on the investigative list may reside outside Los Angeles County do not exempt the County from the responsibility of not counting ballots that federal law prohibits,” he added. “Once credible evidence is presented that certain ballots may be unlawful, election officials cannot ignore that information simply due to processing inconvenience. Administrative difficulty is not a valid excuse for violating federal law.”

President Donald Trump shared details from the letter on his Truth Social platform, issuing a stern caution about the consequences of noncompliance.

“They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” Trump warned.