Fastrack · DOJ Warns California Ballot Officials They Risk Prosecution

The Justice Department warned California officials Friday that knowingly counting ballots from flagged noncitizens could expose them to prosecution.

20,000 names are on the federal list of alleged likely noncitizens.
48 hours was the deadline California missed before Thursday's lawsuit.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter signed the letter to Los Angeles County.
President Trump said officials would go to jail for a long time.

Why it matters: The letter puts election workers on notice weeks before the midterm. California mails ballots to all 23 million registered voters.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber says the administration gave no supporting evidence.
Nevada's flagged 1,500 noncitizen voters turned out to be zero.

The story so far

5 steps · since Oct 9

Oct 9US Judge Blocks DOJ Voter Roll Probes as Unlawful18 sources
Oct 11Justice Department Threatens California Over Alleged Noncitizen Voters46 sources
Oct 13Trump's Midterm Voter Data Push Mostly Fails8 sources
Oct 14Justice Department Sues California Over Alleged Noncitizen Mail Ballots57 sources
Oct 16DOJ Warns California Ballot Officials They Risk ProsecutionYou are hereLatest

How 10 sources split on this story

Source landscape

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Coverage by lean% of 10 sources

10 sources · 11 articles · 50% Right coverage

Where they split: The dispute is whether the federal list identifies real noncitizen voters or unverified names that should not block ballot counting.

Center coverage, 4 sources: The center frames the letter as an escalation by the administration, with legal scholars and past federal claims casting doubt on its basis.

Yahoo News7hCalifornia officials who process ballots from suspected noncitizens risk prosecution, US warns PBS NewsHour6hDOJ says California officials who process ballots from suspected noncitizens risk prosecution Associated Press6hCalifornia officials who process ballots from suspected noncitizens risk prosecution, US warns Reuters3hTrump threatens California officials with imprisonment over stance on mail ballots

Left1 source

ABC News1hTrump administration threatens to prosecute local California election workers

Right coverage, 5 sources: The right frames the letter as enforcement against illegal voting that California officials refused to stop.

New York Post5hTrump DOJ issues stark warning to California ballot counters after suing state over 20K suspected noncitizen voters The Gateway Pundit4h“They Will All Go to Jail For a Long Period of Time!!!” – Trump and DOJ Vow to Jail Los Angeles County Election Officials Who Tabulate Ballots of Non-Citizens * The Gateway Pundit * by Cristina Laila Newsmax5hCalif. Officials Processing Suspected Noncitizen Ballots Risk Prosecution: US NTD1hCalifornia Officials Who Process Ballots From Suspected Noncitizens Risk Prosecution, DOJ Warns Washington Examiner3hTrump warns California election officials about counting ballots from noncitizens

What’s next: A federal court in the Central District of California will weigh the request to hold the flagged ballots.

Any Los Angeles-area prosecutions would run through U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli's office.
Three Democratic senators asked the department not to seize ballots before certification.
How many of the 20,000 flagged registrants are actually noncitizens?
Would courts accept prosecuting election officials as aiders and abettors for counting ballots?