DOJ threatens Utah's lieutenant governor over election administration

Key Points:

• Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice threatening criminal prosecution over her handling of state elections, particularly regarding the retention of noncitizens on voter rolls.
• The DOJ letter emphasized federal election laws aimed at preventing noncitizen voting and warned that election officials could face criminal charges for knowingly retaining noncitizens or aiding such voting.
• Henderson has resisted DOJ demands for private voter data, citing multiple court rulings deeming such data requests illegal, and has been involved in ongoing legal disputes with the department over voter roll access.
• An audit of Utah's voter rolls found only a small number of noncitizens registered to vote among over 2 million voters, and Utah recently enacted a law requiring proof of citizenship for voting in state and local elections.
• The DOJ requested a response from Henderson within five days on Utah's compliance plans but did not specify consequences if she fails to respond; at least 11 other state election officials have received similar DOJ letters.