Trump administration escalates voter roll fight with threats against California election officials

Key Points:

• The Trump administration, via a letter from Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, threatened legal action against Los Angeles election officials unless they review a list of alleged noncitizens on voter rolls within 48 hours and withhold ballots from those individuals.
• The Justice Department demands election officials segregate ballots from alleged noncitizen voters until citizenship is confirmed, escalating efforts to pursue voter fraud claims amid widespread criticism and court pushbacks.
• The administration provided a password-protected thumb drive with names it believes are likely noncitizens and urged collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, though the legal basis for forcing California officials to comply remains unclear.
• Previous DOJ attempts to remove noncitizens from voter rolls have been dismissed by state officials, and claims of large numbers of noncitizens registered to vote have been disputed or debunked in multiple states, including Nevada.
• Courts have repeatedly blocked the administration's efforts to influence election procedures, and recent legal setbacks have questioned the constitutionality of federal laws barring noncitizen voting.