By Safiyah Riddle/Associated Press
Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said may belong to noncitizens, according to the Contra Costa County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
The letters are the latest escalation in a legal battle between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to root out noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.
Earlier this month, the federal government targeted Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.
Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties statewide, including Contra Costa County, have received similar letters. They have been given 48 hours to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.
“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
Kristin Connelly, county clerk recorder and head of the Contra Costa County registrar’s office, told the Los Angeles Times she was among those who received a letter. She said she had not yet responded as of late Friday, but was in contact with her county counsel and “colleagues around the state who received similar letters today.”
“The nonpartisan Contra Costa County Elections Division administers elections according to all state and federal election laws, as well as the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of California. Our work is observable,” Connelly said. “This threat is not helpful and is intended to intimidate.”
The letter she received, from U.S. Atty. Craig Missakian, was full of threats of criminal punishment for tabulating votes from individuals whom the county is “on actual notice” may not be U.S. citizens.
Census data shows that about 26% of the county’s 1.1 million residents are foreign-born immigrants, in line with the rest of the state but nearly double the average nationally. There are more than 733,000 registered voters in the county.
The Justice Department is asking counties to send information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens including social security numbers, identification information, a copy of their registration and more.
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“This threat is not helpful and is intended to intimidate.”
— Kristin Connelly, Contra Costa lerk recorder
That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials.
California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.
Voting is underway in California, with the state’s more than 23 million registered voters receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that more than 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.
County, district attorney and sheriff promise ‘safe’ voting experience
Friday’s letters came on the heels of statewide sweep by federal authorities earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.
In light of the tensions around voting, on Tuesday Contra Costa’s clerk-recorder’s office issued a press release in tandem with Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton and the sheriff’s office, stating they are “standing together to ensure every voter can cast a ballot safely and with confidence.”
It notes that California has “long led the nation in protecting the right to vote,” citing the 2024 Peace Act (AB 2642) that established protections for voters and election workers in all 58 counties by “explicitly prohibiting intimidation and threats at the polls.”
New laws signed by Gov. Newsom in September make it a felony to tamper with ballots, election records, or voting equipment, guard voters against deepfakes and deception, and expand access to the ballot box.
“For Contra Costa County voters, that means every ballot, whether cast at a polling place, dropped in a drop box, or returned by mail, is protected from the moment it’s cast until the final count,” the county said.
Richmondside Editor-in-Chief Kari Hulac contributed to this report.
