Los Angeles Officials Say Federal Noncitizen Voter List Includes Many U.S.-Born People
Los Angeles election officials said in court papers filed Tuesday that a Justice Department list of 20,000 suspected noncitizens includes a high percentage of people born in the United States. The Guardian
The department sent the list to Los Angeles County election officials last week. It gave the county and the California secretary of state 48 hours to set aside separately the ballots cast by anyone named unless citizenship could be verified. California officials refused, and the Justice Department sued them on Thursday. In its complaint, the department alleges California is facilitating unlawful voting by knowingly allowing noncitizens to vote. U.S. Justice Department
Of the 20,000 names sent to Los Angeles County, only about 7,000 had an address in the county, according to the filing. County officials examined a sample of 200 people from the list. Among records with meaningfully reported birthplace information, 38.9% indicated birth in the United States, according to a court declaration by Aman Bhullar, an official in the county clerk and recorder's office.
Bhullar said 43% of those on the list had a voter registration record that had been cancelled. In the 200-person sample, 71% had never voted. Eighty-six people in the sample had been mailed a ballot this year.
The list was compiled by the Department of Homeland Security, which has resisted state requests to share how it matched voter rolls to noncitizen records. A similar dispute arose in Nevada. In July, Homeland Security accused Nevada of having as many as 16,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls and later sent a list of 185 suspected noncitizens. Nevada officials investigated and said all 185 were citizens.
Acting Deputy Attorney General R Trent McCotter acknowledged at a press conference Monday that the California list could include citizens. The lawsuit seeks to stop counting of more than 20,000 California mail ballots until immigration status is verified. Reuters Separately, the Justice Department said on Oct. 19 that it had charged 28 foreign nationals in California election-crimes cases. U.S. Justice Department
