Trump California Ballots: Threatens Officials With Jail
The trump california ballots standoff escalated sharply on Friday, when the Justice Department warned Los Angeles County and California election officials they could be held liable as aiders and abettors of a federal crime if they count mail ballots returned by more than 20,000 people the administration says are probably noncitizens.
In a letter to Los Angeles County’s assistant counsel Peter Bollinger, released Friday, acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter wrote that “noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful.” California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan were copied on the letter.
Trump’s Jail Warning on Truth Social
President Donald Trump shared the letter on Truth Social with the comment: “They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” The post marked the sharpest rhetoric yet from the White House in its weeks-long confrontation with the state, arriving less than three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
A Rapid Escalation After Thursday’s Lawsuit
The warning caps days of mounting pressure. On Tuesday, the Justice Department gave California 48 hours to review a password-protected thumb drive containing the names of people the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who had been sent mail-in ballots. On Thursday, the department sued the state, asking a court to bar officials from counting the flagged ballots until citizenship is confirmed.
California Pushes Back
State officials have disputed the department’s approach. Weber’s office pointed to an earlier statement saying the department’s efforts to “unlawfully gain access to states’ protected voter data and purge voter rolls serve only to cause chaos and fuel public distrust in our elections.” The Los Angeles County counsel’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare in U.S. elections, and the administration has previously flagged eligible voters as potential noncitizens while combing state registration lists.
Source: Reuters