Justice Dept. demands California prove citizenship for lists of voters or withhold ballots

Key Points:

• The U.S. Department of Justice has demanded California election officials verify the citizenship of voters flagged as potential noncitizens and segregate or withhold their ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election, issuing a 48-hour deadline for response.
• Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter warned that ballots from voters on the federal list should not be counted until citizenship is confirmed, threatening court intervention if California officials do not comply.
• Experts and election officials have criticized the DOJ’s demand as legally questionable and potentially disruptive, citing past inaccuracies in similar noncitizen voter lists and the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters close to the election.
• California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and other state officials have previously challenged federal claims of widespread noncitizen voting, noting the DOJ’s request comes after ballots have already been mailed out.
• The DOJ maintains that preventing noncitizens from voting is a federal crime and a shared responsibility between state and federal governments to protect election integrity, despite concerns about the timing and accuracy of the federal list.