DOJ charges 28 people in California with voting crimes : NPR

Key Points:

• The Justice Department charged 28 noncitizens in California with election-related crimes and filed an emergency request to stop processing ballots from individuals on voter rolls identified as "likely noncitizens," escalating tensions over the state's voting system ahead of the midterms.
• California officials have refused to comply with the DOJ's demands, citing federal and state laws that protect voter rights and due process, and have challenged the methodology used by the DOJ to identify noncitizen voters.
• Experts warn that the DOJ's aggressive approach risks disenfranchising eligible voters, undermining voter confidence, and could be used as a pretext for post-election interference, while noting that noncitizen voting is a very small issue relative to the total electorate.
• The DOJ's actions follow a broader national effort, with 113 noncitizens charged across 20 states in recent weeks, but critics argue the effort exaggerates the scale of noncitizen voting and may primarily serve political goals.
• Local election officials nationwide are closely monitoring the dispute, concerned about potential federal scrutiny and legal challenges in other jurisdictions, especially in closely contested races this fall.