DOJ sues California over noncitizen voter eligibility
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter discusses the DOJ lawsuit against California over voter rolls. McCotter details efforts to crack down on noncitizens registered to vote and ensure election integrity.
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Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to rule out whether the Department of Justice could seek to intervene in states’ midterm election certification processes, saying there are extreme scenarios that could prompt federal action.
Speaking to reporters in Virginia on Thursday, Blanche said it was not his intention to “improperly interfere with elections,” but declined to rule out federal involvement if a “doomsday scenario” were to happen.
“Of course there’s scenarios that we can all come up with hypothetically, you know, some doomsday scenario, for example, right?” he said. “So, I don’t think it’s proper to make any kind of conclusory statements about what’s going to happen in the future, because I have no idea what’s happening in the future.”
Blanche said he could not say there were no circumstances under which the DOJ would get involved.
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Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to rule out whether the Department of Justice would intervene in states’ midterm election verification processes. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
“Of course, I’m not going to say that,” he said. “But am I planning my days around the election to be somewhere to not certify? Of course not, no, not at all.”
The DOJ’s role in elections is limited under the Constitution and federal law, allowing it primarily to safeguard civil rights and prosecute people who violate election law. Federal law does not specifically authorize the department to challenge ballots or delay a state’s certification of election results.
Under the Constitution and federal law, U.S. elections are run by state and local officials rather than the federal government.
During a news conference in Norfolk, Blanche was questioned about the DOJ’s litigation against states, seeking to force officials to turn over unredacted voter data and halt the counting of ballots cast by thousands of voters the federal government argues are likely noncitizens.
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President Donald Trump has repeatedly purported that noncitizen voting poses a serious threat to election integrity, although studies and prosecutions have found that instances of noncitizens casting ballots are extremely rare. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Blanche said the DOJ was “not trying to create chaos” but wanted to alert officials to potential problems.
“I’m not trying to not have an election certified. Of course not,” Blanche said. “What we’re trying to do is guarantee to the American people that the only people that are voting are people that are eligible to vote.”
In response to Blanche’s comments, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Senate Democrats “have been preparing for this for months and will be ready” for whatever administration officials try.
“As Trump and his cronies attempt to steal this election, we are fighting them at every turn,” Schumer posted on X. “Our elections must always belong to the voters — not Donald Trump.”
The administration sued California election officials last week, arguing they failed to act quickly enough to review names the federal government identified as likely noncitizens. The DOJ asked a judge to block the state from counting mail-in ballots from those individuals unless their eligibility could be confirmed.
Under the Constitution and federal law, U.S. elections are run by state and local officials rather than the federal government. (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, File)
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The California secretary of state’s office said it was given only 48 hours to review roughly 20,000 names.
The DOJ was also weighing additional election-related litigation against states, but a federal judge this week temporarily restricted certain election-related field operations and interviews in nine states through Election Day. The judge stayed the order until Friday evening to give the administration an opportunity to appeal.
Earlier this week, Democratic leaders and election groups filed a lawsuit against the administration, accusing it of “threats and intimidation” ahead of Election Day.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said noncitizen voting poses a serious threat to election integrity, although documented instances of noncitizens casting ballots in federal elections have historically been rare.