Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan answered that the Justice Department is litigating "unverified assertions" and the fight belongs in court.
The warning. Donald Trump reposted on Truth Social a Justice Department warning to Los Angeles County election officials. The warning, from acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, says counting the mail ballots of about 20,000 people the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) flagged as likely noncitizens could make officials "aiders and abettors" (people who help someone commit a crime) of illegal voting. Trump added his own line.
"They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!" ([TS]the law cited, 18 U.S.C. § 611, tops out at one year per violation)Donald Trump, on Truth Social
The county. Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan replied on Friday, Oct. 16, 18 days before the Nov. 3 election: "The U.S. Department of Justice has chosen to litigate their unverified assertions of voting eligibility. At this point, it is best for this to be addressed in court."
The catch. In court, the department's lawsuit says only that officials "believe" the flagged people "may be" registered and calls them "likely" noncitizens. In public, a department spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times the 20,000 "have been manually verified." Logan's office said on Friday, Oct. 16 that it had yet to receive the method behind the list.
Still open. The Justice Department's lawsuit asks a court to order the flagged ballots held uncounted; no judge has granted that yet.
Catch up
- Oct. 13 — The Justice Department gave California 48 hours to check citizenship on a list of mail voters and hold their ballots.
- Oct. 15 — After the deadline passed, it sued the state and Los Angeles County to keep about 20,000 ballots uncounted.
- Oct. 16 — It warned that officials who count those ballots risk federal prosecution, and California called DOJ's matching method sloppy.
2 earlier issues
Why flagged voters cannot simply be struck before Nov. 3
- The National Voter Registration Act, the federal voter-list law, requires mass computer-match removal programs to stop 90 days before a federal election.
- California Elections Code §2201(a)(8) requires proof a voter is ineligible, not just a missed DOJ deadline; Worth knowingCasting a conditional ballot does not by itself make it count. The county must first verify the voter's eligibility, and a mail ballot already sent in from a cancelled registration is not a substitute..