Politics
Federal demand puts Contra Costa voting records under scrutiny ahead of midterms
The Justice Department has asked at least 18 California counties, including Contra Costa, to identify voters it suspects may be noncitizens and set aside ballots whose voters’ citizenship cannot be confirmed. The request comes amid a wider legal fight over the Trump administration’s efforts to investigate alleged noncitizen voting, which available data shows is rare.
Federal prosecutors have given at least 18 California counties 48 hours to provide information about voters the Justice Department suspects are noncitizens and to sequester ballots if officials cannot verify the voters’ citizenship. Contra Costa County is among the counties that received a letter, according to East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier.
The letters were sent Friday, Oct. 23, as the Trump administration presses efforts to identify and block alleged noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections. The Justice Department is seeking information that includes Social Security numbers, identification records and voter-registration documents, according to a letter sent to San Bernardino County election officials.
That letter said the federal government’s list includes 1,133 people in San Bernardino County. The information, it said, would help the government and state assess whether people on the list registered illegally.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli warned that election officials who knowingly process a noncitizen’s ballot could face legal jeopardy. The letters also ask county officials to hold ballots when they cannot confirm a voter’s citizenship.
DeSaulnier said he trusts local election officials to follow state and federal law while protecting eligible voters’ constitutional rights. He emphasized that eligible voters should have the opportunity to participate.
The demands are the latest move in a broader dispute between California and the Justice Department. Earlier this month, the department sued Los Angeles County and the California secretary of state, seeking to prevent the counting of ballots from about 20,000 people it described as “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing in that case was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27. The administration also asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to act before the district judge ruled, setting a Saturday deadline.
Sen. Alex Padilla, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which oversees federal elections, accused the administration of trying to interfere in California’s elections. He said the Justice Department had not produced evidence of widespread voter fraud and called the data behind its claims inaccurate and unreliable.
Available data indicates that voting by noncitizens is exceptionally rare, difficult to establish and has not been shown to change election outcomes. The federal requests put county election offices in the middle of an escalating legal and political fight, with officials facing a short deadline to turn over sensitive voter information and make decisions about ballots.