DOJ Orders 48-Hour Audit of 20,000 California Ballots
State officials warn the federal deadline is too short to verify citizenship without removing eligible voters from the rolls.
By Madison Darwish ·
Federal prosecutors have given California election officials 48 hours to verify the citizenship status of approximately 20,000 voters. The demand arrived Friday, less than two weeks before the midterm elections, creating an immediate logistical challenge for state counties.
The Justice Department states it is acting to secure the vote. A department statement asked county officials to provide information to the Department of Homeland Security so it can quickly verify citizenship. "We can ensure the most secure election in California history," the statement said. The request targets ballots tied to suspected noncitizens, a group the department says has been underrepresented in previous audits.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta rejected the timeline and the scope of the investigation. Speaking to MS Now on Saturday, he described the move as "politicizing and weaponizing the law." Bonta argued the department is acting at the direct instruction of President Donald Trump to attack political opponents. He noted that officials received only names without any explanation of why those specific individuals were deemed ineligible.
Election administrators in Los Angeles warned that the short deadline could force them to strip eligible citizens of their voting rights. Local officials said a high percentage of the people on the list were born in the United States. Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the list on social media, noting it included people who never voted and voters from the wrong county. He called the process an absolute clown show.
The dispute has moved to the federal courts. Some state officials took no action on the letters sent Friday because of the approaching election date. This inaction triggered a legal fight with the Justice Department. An appeals court is scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday.
The audit is part of a wider Republican effort to crack down on alleged voter fraud. The department recently charged 28 foreign nationals with fraudulently registering to vote. Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, said the arrests proved that California was mailing ballots to noncitizens. The defendants are lawful permanent residents who hold legal status in the US but are not citizens.
The 48-hour window ends Sunday. If the courts do not intervene, counties must complete the verification process before the polls close.
Source: The Guardian
