Justice Department Alerts California on Illegal Voter Status

On October 25, the Justice Department issued warnings to California counties regarding suspected illegal voters, providing local officials with 48 hours to verify the citizenship status of individuals identified on federal lists. Bilal Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, signed the letters, which included data on 20,000 individuals alleged to be non-citizens registered to vote.

The letters specified the number of suspected non-citizens in various counties: 1,754 in Orange County, 1,355 in Riverside County, 1,133 in San Bernardino County, 334 in Ventura County, 180 in Santa Barbara County, and 63 in San Luis Obispo County. A separate letter to Contra Costa County listed 407 individuals.

The Justice Department warned that counting ballots from these individuals without verification could expose officials to liability. California officials, including Secretary of State Shirley Weber, criticized the federal actions, claiming insufficient evidence and unlawful access to voter data, undermining public confidence in elections.