US charges 28 green card holders in California over alleged illegal voting
In short
The U.S. Justice Department said it has charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with federal crimes including false statements in naturalization applications and fraudulent voter registration. Eleven were arrested on Monday, 19 October, as part of "Operation Protect the Vote". California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, said there is no widespread voter fraud in the state.
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The U.S. Justice Department said on Monday that 28 foreign nationals in California have been charged in criminal complaints with federal crimes, and that federal law enforcement arrested 11 of them that day. The department said all 28 are lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, who have legal immigration status but are not citizens and are not permitted to vote. [ 1 , 9 ]
The charges include making false statements in a naturalization application, and some defendants are also charged with fraudulent voter registration. Both are felonies that carry a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A Justice Department spokesperson said 21 of the 28 had cast unlawful ballots, and prosecutors alleged the defendants lied under oath in voter registration applications. The defendants arrested were expected to make initial appearances in U.S. District Courts that afternoon, and no pleas were to be taken that day. [ 1 , 9 ]
The department said the arrests are part of "Operation Protect the Vote", a coordinated effort among all four California-based U.S. Attorney's Offices. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said at a news conference in Los Angeles that "this causes real damage to real elections and real damage to American citizens." In the Justice Department's release, he said each of the 28 appears on a list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants given to California election officials. [ 1 , 3 , 7 ]
According to the Justice Department, the federal government gave California the list on Oct. 13 so that vote-by-mail ballots could be set aside until citizenship status was confirmed. It said California declined to help, which led to a lawsuit by the United States. The AP reported that federal officials blamed California officials for the alleged crimes, accusing them of facilitating noncitizen voting through inadequate voter roll maintenance and hiding it from the public. ABC News reported that the department did not rule out prosecuting election workers who are processing ballots. [ 1 , 3 , 7 , 12 ]
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said there is no widespread voter fraud in the state. He said "one-off" examples are possible but are "a drop in the bucket" given the state's 23 million registered voters, and that he expects California to prevail in the lawsuit. [ 3 , 7 ]
The AP reported that the sweep is part of a Trump administration effort to root out noncitizen voting before next month's midterm elections, even though data shows the problem is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races. Before Monday, the department had charged about 90 people for election misconduct this year, including 50 alleged to have voted as noncitizens. The Guardian reported that Democrats and voting rights groups say the administration's efforts are a strategy to sow doubt in the results of the midterms. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 9 ]
Why it matters
The charges come weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections and add to a dispute between the federal government and California over voter rolls and a Justice Department lawsuit. Democrats and voting rights groups quoted by The Guardian say the administration's push is meant to sow doubt in the results.
Key facts
- The Justice Department said 28 foreign nationals in California were charged in criminal complaints, and all 28 are lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who are not permitted to vote. [ 1 , 3 , 9 ]
- Eleven of the defendants were arrested on Monday; the Justice Department said arrests were ongoing. [ 1 , 8 , 9 ]
- The charges include making false statements in a naturalization application and, for some defendants, fraudulent voter registration; both are felonies with a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. [ 1 , 9 ]
- A Justice Department spokesperson said 21 of the 28 defendants had cast unlawful ballots. [ 9 ]
- The sweep is called "Operation Protect the Vote" and is a coordinated effort among all four U.S. Attorney's Offices based in California. [ 1 ]
- Before Monday, the Justice Department had charged about 90 people for election misconduct this year, including 50 alleged to have voted as noncitizens. [ 5 , 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Justice Department announced charges against 28 lawful permanent residents in California in a sweep called Operation Protect the Vote. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 9 ]
- Eleven of the defendants were arrested on Monday. [ 1 , 8 , 9 ]
- The charges include making false statements in a naturalization application and fraudulent voter registration. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 9 ]
- The sweep comes ahead of next month's midterm elections and follows a Justice Department lawsuit against California over voter rolls. [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 8 , 9 ]
Still unclear
- How many of the 28 defendants actually voted illegally. The Justice Department release said most of them cast ballots, while a department spokesperson quoted by The Guardian said 21 of the 28 did; the charges are allegations and no pleas were taken on Monday.
- Whether California's position or the federal government's is correct on the extent of noncitizen voting. Bonta said the state has been given "no facts of any ineligible voters" and that any fraud is "a drop in the bucket"; federal officials blamed California officials for facilitating noncitizen voting, as reported by the AP version carried by The Seattle Times and The Boston Globe.
- Whether election workers will be prosecuted. ABC News reported that the Justice Department did not rule out prosecuting election workers who are processing ballots in California; no charges against election workers are reported.
- The outcome of the federal lawsuit against California. Bonta said he expects the state to prevail; the documents report no court ruling.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Justice Department published its announcement of charges against 28 foreign nationals in California. [ 1 ]
- The Associated Press published a report on the arrests. [ 2 ]
- Bloomberg reported that federal agents arrested 11 noncitizens across California on Monday. [ 8 ]
- ABC News reported that the Justice Department did not rule out prosecuting election workers who are processing ballots in California. [ 12 ]