DOJ charges 28 foreign nationals in California in voter-registration crackdown

The Justice Department charged 28 foreign nationals in California on Monday with “various voting and registration crimes, among others”, the department announced, as early voting gets underway in the state for the midterm elections.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the defendants face some combination of unlawful voting by an alien, a false claim of US citizenship in order to vote or register to vote, and knowingly depriving the residents of California of a fair and impartial election process. The 28 are on a list of 20,000 people the DOJ alleges “are likely aliens” registered to vote in California; the list was sent to California officials last week, McCotter said.

First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said many of those charged had voted in prior elections, and that 11 people are in custody so far, with the rest to be taken into custody “in the near future”. He said the DOJ has charged 113 people nationwide with illegal voting and registration offenses. The effort, called “Operation Protect the Vote”, is a coordinated effort by California’s four US attorneys’ offices.

Those charged include people living in Long Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Sacramento and San Jose, the Central District said. The announcement follows the DOJ’s Oct 16 lawsuit against California over its voter rolls and an Oct 17 warning of possible jail for ballot officials over the 20,000 alleged noncitizen mail ballots. All are allegations; defendants are presumed innocent.