Key facts
- Federal prosecutors ordered California officials to set aside ballots potentially cast by noncitizens.
- At least 18 counties received letters demanding verification of suspected noncitizen voters.
- The Justice Department is seeking voter information including registration details and ID.
- California officials oppose the demands, citing unreliable data and risk of disenfranchisement.
Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said may belong to noncitizens. The letters are the latest escalation in a legal battle between California and Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to root out noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections. The Trump administration asked the ninth circuit court of appeals to rule on a related lawsuit by Saturday. According to the LA county registrar’s office, at least 18 counties have received similar letters, giving them a 48-hour deadline to provide identifying information for suspected noncitizen voters and to sequester ballots where citizenship cannot be verified. California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles county registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands, arguing that the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms.