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Justice Department charges more than 2 dozen foreign nationals in California sweep targeting noncitizen voters
PBS • • general
Key Points:
- The Trump administration has launched a statewide sweep called Operation Protect the Vote to arrest lawful permanent residents in California accused of noncitizen voting, despite data showing such cases are rare and unlikely to affect election outcomes.
- This effort escalates tensions between the federal government and California, highlighted by a recent DOJ lawsuit against the state for not reviewing a list of 20,000 likely noncitizen voters before mail ballots were sent out.
- The Justice Department warned California election officials that knowingly processing ballots from noncitizen voters could lead to investigation and prosecution for aiding a federal crime.
- California officials, including the Los Angeles County Registrar, have rejected the DOJ’s claims as unverified and emphasized their focus on conducting a fair and secure election amid ongoing legal disputes.
- So far in 2024, the DOJ has charged about 90 people with election misconduct, including 50 for alleged noncitizen voting, out of more than 227 million registered voters nationwide.
