DOJ reportedly warns states of possible criminal action over noncitizen voting

WASHINGTON (TNND) — With the November midterms drawing closer, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security are ramping up efforts aimed at preventing noncitizens from voting and ensuring what federal officials describe as fair elections.

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed this week that the department sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., warning they could face criminal prosecution over noncitizen voting. (TNND)

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed this week that the department sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., warning they could face criminal prosecution over noncitizen voting. The move comes as more than a dozen states have yet to hold their primary elections. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon signed the letters sent to all 50 states. The letters reportedly gave states five days to explain how they will comply with federal voter eligibility laws and maintain clean voter lists.

Let me tell you as a voter, that right is sacred and if one person votes illegally and cancels out my vote, I think that’s pretty significant because I take time and effort to think who to vote for and it’s a civil right, Dhillon said in a social media interview with Joe Pags this week.

Multiple state officials confirmed they received the letters, including Utah’s Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, who wrote in part on social media, “This is truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights.”

Separately, DHS also announced this week that an Australian national was arrested in Louisiana and has been charged for allegedly illegally casting ballots in two different elections. In an interview with The National News Desk in June, Dhillon urged voters to report potential problems.

People should also be vigilant. They shouldn’t just post online that they got a bunch of ballots and whine about it. You know they should file complaints. They should document these issues. They should either take them to lawyers or report them to the DOJ, what’s going on,” she said.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Florida ordered DHS this week to restore citizenship verification database access to four Republican-led states: Florida, Ohio, Iowa and Indiana. But the decision created a conflict with an existing federal injunction from Washington, D.C., that halted the revamped database. In his opinion, the judge wrote, “This Court is not bound by Judge Sooknanan’s order, and with all due respect, the Court disagrees with the conclusions in that order.”

With primary elections well underway, the Justice Department has also pressed states to turn over voter roll data. While some states have complied with the administration’s demands, the DOJ has sued more than two dozen states plus Washington, D.C., for resisting. So far, 11 different federal courts have dismissed the efforts.

I think all Americans should realize what their state governments are doing. Some of them are cooperating and most of them are not,” Dhillon told The National News Desk in June.

Studies by organizations including the Brennan Center for Justice and the Cato Institute indicate noncitizen voting is statistically rare, but the Trump administration has made cracking down on such voting a priority.