The Department of Justice announced criminal charges against 28 lawful permanent residents in California on accusations of fraudulent voter registration and illegal voting. According to federal prosecutors, 21 of the 28 defendants cast unlawful ballots, and 11 have been taken into custody with arrests continuing. The charges include making false statements in naturalization applications and fraudulent voter registration, felonies that prosecutors say could result in five-year prison sentences.
The prosecution is part of broader federal efforts targeting alleged noncitizen voting. Democrats and voting rights groups characterize the crackdown as an attempt to cast doubt on the legitimacy of upcoming midterm elections. Election experts have raised concerns that such enforcement actions could inadvertently remove eligible citizens from voter rolls. The federal government provided California election officials with a list of more than 20,000 individuals it identifies as “likely noncitizens” and demanded confirmation of their citizenship status within 48 hours, threatening to remove their ballots from the count.
California officials have contested the federal government’s methodology and accuracy. State Secretary of State Shirley Weber characterized the Justice Department’s demands as “outrageous,” noting that the Department of Homeland Security initially claimed 190,000 registered voters in the state “may be” noncitizens but later revised that figure to 20,000 without disclosing details about its data or methodology. Weber argued that the federal demands violate federal election law prohibiting systematic voter removal near federal elections. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter acknowledged potential inaccuracies in the government’s list, stating “there may be some names on there who, it turns out, ultimately are citizens.”
Court documents suggest some defendants may have been confused about voting eligibility. Several individuals charged agreed to voluntary interviews and were in the process of pursuing citizenship applications. One defendant described being encouraged to vote by poll workers who said his ballot would be verified. Another stated he did not intentionally commit fraud when filling out a mailed ballot. California maintains automatic voter registration policies that register individuals when they interact with the Department of Motor Vehicles unless they opt out.
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