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Blanche threatens ‘a number of states’ with California-style voting lawsuits
Democracy Docket • • nation
Key Points:
- Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated the U.S. Department of Justice may pursue additional lawsuits similar to the one against California, aiming to block states from counting certain ballots in the upcoming midterm election.
- The DOJ recently sent California election officials a list of 20,000 alleged noncitizens registered to vote and sued the state and Los Angeles County for refusing to segregate those ballots pending citizenship verification.
- The Trump administration escalated the case by seeking a federal court order to block counting ballots from voters on the unverified list, leading to arrests and charges against some individuals for illegal voter registration.
- California officials condemned the DOJ's lawsuit as absurd and disenfranchising, while the DOJ appealed to the 9th Circuit Court before a judge could rule on a temporary restraining order.
- Blanche acknowledged the DOJ might interfere with state election certification processes under certain circumstances but emphasized it is not their intention to improperly interfere, despite the constitutional provision that states administer elections independently.
