DOJ Sues California Over Ballots Linked to 20,000 People

The U.S. Justice Department sued California over ballots linked to more than 20,000 people it considers likely noncitizens, seeking to block their tabulation until citizenship can be verified. The move followed a warning from Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter that election officials who knowingly count ballots cast by people federal agencies identify as noncitizens risk federal criminal prosecution. President Donald Trump amplified the warning, saying California officials would go to jail for a long time. The department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, asks for a temporary order preventing the state from counting mail ballots associated with people on its list while their citizenship status is checked. The more-than-20,000 figure is the government’s estimate of people it believes are likely noncitizens, not a verified count of ineligible voters. In a letter dated October 16 to Los Angeles County Assistant Counsel Peter Bollinger, McCotter wrote that officials who knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens could be treated as aiders and abettors to a federal crime....