A DOJ spokesperson says 21 of the 28 are accused of actually casting ballots; all came from the 20,000-plus-name list DOJ is suing to keep from being counted.
Under what it calls "Operation Protect the Vote," the Justice Department on Monday, Oct. 19 charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with voting-related crimes. Lawful permanent residents are green-card holders: legal immigrants who are not citizens. Agents arrested 11 of them the same day. A DOJ spokesperson says 21 of the 28 are accused of actually casting ballots. The felony counts carry up to five years in prison.
The workers. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter did not rule out charging election workers who process ballots sent to people on DOJ's list.
Where it stands. All 28 come from a list of more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens. Worth knowingGetting a ballot in the mail from the state does not make someone eligible to vote. Green-card holders are not citizens and cannot vote in federal elections, so casting a ballot that arrives unasked can still be charged as a crime.. The same list is behind the lawsuit DOJ filed against the state last week.
How we got here
- Oct. 13 — DOJ gave California an undisclosed list of mail voters on a thumb drive and demanded citizenship checks within 48 hours; Los Angeles County would not open it.
- Oct. 15 — The deadline passed, and DOJ sued California and L.A. County to hold about 20,000 flagged ballots uncounted, 19 days before the Nov. 3 election.
- Oct. 16 — DOJ warned officials who count those ballots that they could be prosecuted as "aiders and abettors."
- Oct. 17 — Trump said L.A. officials "will all go to jail" if they count them; Registrar Dean Logan said DOJ was litigating "unverified assertions."