Justice Department asks California to verify about 20,000 suspected noncitizen ballots

Federal prosecutors have asked California election officials to verify within 48 hours a list of about 20,000 ballots that they say belong to suspected noncitizens, The Guardian reported. The request came less than two weeks before the midterm elections, the national votes held midway through a president's term.

The dispute began with a letter from the U.S. Justice Department dated October 13. That letter repeated an allegation that noncitizens, meaning people who are not U.S. citizens, may be registered to vote in California. California's Secretary of State later replied in writing to a Justice Department official, and the department's letter set out a deadline. The department threatened California officials with legal action unless they reviewed a list of alleged noncitizen voters within 48 hours, Reuters reported.

Some counties received the same 48-hour deadline to supply identifying information for ballots believed to come from suspected noncitizens, according to PBS NewsHour. On October 15, the United States sued California. The suit seeks to stop the counting of more than 20,000 vote-by-mail ballots, the ballots voters receive and return by post, until the immigration status of the voters is verified, Reuters reported.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the Justice Department had provided only a list of people, with no information explaining why they are purportedly ineligible to vote. Officials in Los Angeles said a high percentage of the people on the list were born in the United States, the Guardian reported.

The Justice Department has also charged 28 foreign nationals with fraudulently registering to vote, the Guardian reported.

An appeals court was scheduled to hear the legal battle between California officials and the Justice Department on Tuesday.