DOJ charges 28 in California with voting crimes as election tensions escalate
The Justice Department announced on Monday it was charging 28 noncitizens with election crimes in California, signaling a further escalation over the state's voting system that looks like it will continue through Election Day and beyond.
asserted
it → charge → Day
The DOJ also filed an emergency request in federal court to stop California from processing ballots returned by people on the voter rolls whom the federal government says are "likely noncitizens."
asserted
government → file → rolls
The state has asked for specific information on how the federal government came to its conclusions, but has not received it.
asserted
government → ask → it
"This Department of Justice will not look the other way while noncitizens vote in federal elections," Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said at a press conference on Monday announcing the election crime charges.
asserted
McCotter → look → charges
"Unfortunately the same can't be said for California and L.A. County."
asserted
same → say → California
Noncitizen voting has never been found to be a widespread problem in American elections, but the Trump administration is devoting significant resources to uncovering the ineligible voting that does occur.
asserted
that → find → voting
The DOJ has been announcing handfuls of new charges almost every day as early voting gets underway in many states.
asserted
voting → announce → states
The Justice Department's latest request in federal court is a continuation of a saga that began this summer with President Trump's primetime speech on election integrity.
asserted
that → begin → integrity
It took a major turn last week with the delivery of a flash drive to Los Angeles County that contained 20,000 names and a 48-hour deadline to investigate them.
asserted
that → take → them
Local and state officials declined to do so, and the federal government sued.
asserted
government → decline → ?
McCotter escalated the dispute further on Friday by warning California officials in a letter that they could be criminally prosecuted for knowingly processing ballots "cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens."
uncertain
they → escalate → noncitizens
President Trump wrote on Truth Social that evening: "They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!"
asserted
They → write → time
Taken together, the threats have local officials and election experts worried that the adversarial posture of the Justice Department towards California portends more actions to come aimed at delegitimizing results in this fall's midterms.
asserted
posture → take → midterms
"There's a few things to be worried about," said Rick Hasen, an election law expert who runs UCLA's Safeguarding Democracy Project.
asserted
who → be → Project
"One is the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters.
asserted
One → disenfranchise → voters
The other is the risk that it further undermines voter confidence in the electoral process by making it seem like [noncitizen voting] is a major problem when it is not.
asserted
it → undermine → process
And the third risk is that this is going to be used as some sort of pretext to try to seize ballots or interfere after the election is over."
asserted
election → go → ballots
Dana Lewis, the Republican county recorder for Pinal County, Ariz., said local officials nationwide are watching and communicating about what's happening in California, the same way they did when the FBI raided an elections office in Fulton County, Ga. in January.
asserted
FBI → say → January
If those officials are administering a race this fall that is close or contested, they feel they could be next, she said.
uncertain
she → administer → race
"When this impacts another jurisdiction, you automatically have to feel that," Lewis said.
asserted
Lewis → impact → that
"If it's happening in Georgia, if it's happening in Colorado or California, we're all watching."
asserted
we → happen → Colorado
New criminal charges against noncitizens in California
All 28 people charged in California on Monday are green-card holders, and all appeared on the list of 20,000 names the DOJ gave California officials last week, according to DOJ officials.
uncertain
DOJ → charge → officials
A number of them do not appear to have actually voted, and some registered to vote more than 20 years ago.
asserted
some → appear → them
Many are accused of making false statements in their naturalization applications, which ask whether applicants previously registered to vote or claimed U.S. citizenship.
asserted
applicants → accuse → citizenship
Previous research has shown that when noncitizen voting and registration occurs, it is also often the result of bureaucratic error and not intentional fraud.
asserted
it → show → error
New Jersey revealed this summer that a software glitch at the DMV registered more than 6,000 people to vote even though they had indicated they were noncitizens.
asserted
they → reveal → people
Bill Essayli, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for California's Central District, downplayed that possibility on Monday, however.
asserted
Essayli → downplay → Monday
"It's not something that just happens to you," Essayli said.
asserted
Essayli → happen → you
"They either attested to it when they got a driver's license, or they went out of their way to file a voter registration form, and they swore under oath that they were a citizen.
asserted
they → attest → oath
"
In the past seven weeks, the Justice Department has charged 113 noncitizens across 20 states with voting and registration crimes, officials said at Monday's press conference.
asserted
officials → charge → conference
UCLA's Hasen said the charges seem to be meant to make noncitizen voting "look like a bigger issue than it is."
asserted
it → say → issue
"Given that there's over 20 million registered voters in California, this is quite a small number of allegations," Hasen said.
asserted
Hasen → give → allegations
"And we don't know how many of these allegations will even pan out.
asserted
many → know → allegations
And so even if all of these were in fact people who were illegally voting, it's a drop in the bucket compared to the number of voters in California."
Recent polling suggests a sizable portion of the American public thinks immigration enforcement will be present at voting locations this fall, despite federal law banning armed federal agents from the polls.
uncertain
enforcement → vote → polls
Non-white voters are more likely than white voters to say they fear voting could put them at risk of being questioned by immigration authorities despite being citizens.
uncertain
voting → say → authorities
In an interview earlier this fall with NPR, Los Angeles County's top voting official, Dean Logan, alluded to those worries.
asserted
official → allude → worries
"Given everything leading up to this election, what we're trying to remind voters is the best way to secure the election is through your participation," Logan told NPR.
asserted
Logan → give → NPR
If you have questions, let us know, let us answer them.
asserted
us → have → them
But don't let this keep you from voting," he said.
asserted
he → let → you
"Because if you're not voting, none of the rest matters, right?"
asserted
none → vote → rest
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
