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‘We didn’t ask you to remove them’: DOJ’s California lawsuit aims to get around federal voter protections
Democracy Docket • • nation
Key Points:
- The DOJ has filed a lawsuit against California during the 90-day "quiet period" before federal elections, seeking to block ballots from about 20,000 alleged noncitizens rather than removing them from voter registration lists, which is prohibited by federal law.
- This legal strategy aims to bypass the National Voter Registration Act's (NVRA) protections against last-minute voter removals, potentially undermining a decades-old safeguard designed to prevent disenfranchisement.
- The lawsuit claims a Supremacy Clause violation, arguing federal laws barring noncitizen voting override California's practices, which could significantly expand executive power over elections.
- Critics argue that while the DOJ does not formally request removing voters from rolls, blocking ballots has a similar effect and may violate the NVRA's intent, raising concerns about election interference and voter suppression.
- The DOJ has previously sought to weaken quiet period protections, and this case represents a systematic challenge to tens of thousands of ballots, with officials warning state actors of possible criminal penalties for noncompliance.
