Los Angeles County supervisors are vowing to fight a federal voter fraud crackdown they call voter intimidation ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3 midterm election.
County Supervisor Hilda Solis said in an Oct. 19 statement that "the federal government's continued attempts to deter voting and instill fear is an affront to our democracy," Spectrum News reported. She said allegations of widespread fraud are unfounded and that voters should be able to cast ballots "without interruption, interference, or intimidation from the federal government."
Supervisor Janice Hahn called the arrests "voter intimidation and a blatant attempt to undermine trust in our midterm elections." Both supervisors urged residents to vote early.
The statements came after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced 11 arrests in California under an initiative called "Operation Protect the Vote." A total of 28 noncitizens, all lawful permanent residents, were charged with felonies including false statements on naturalization applications and fraudulent voter registration. Each charge carries up to five years in federal prison.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the 28 people charged are among roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizens the DOJ identified on California's voter rolls. The DOJ also filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court seeking to block election officials statewide from counting mail ballots submitted by those individuals.
California declined to act on a federal list of alleged noncitizen voters delivered on a password-protected thumb drive with a 48-hour deadline, according to Spectrum News. Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan rejected the demand, stating the DOJ failed to provide evidence of ineligibility, Korea Daily reported.
Logan said the matter belongs in court.
"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," he said in an Oct. 19 statement.
The county had already prepared for this kind of confrontation. In May, the Board of Supervisors approved a motion by Solis and Lindsey Horvath authorizing county attorneys and the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office to join or initiate litigation "against the federal government for any interference or disruption" in elections. That motion also guaranteed legal defense for any county employee charged with a federal crime while administering the election.
Solis said Oct. 19 the preparations were meant "to ensure that our county's registrar-recorder is prepared to handle any emergency that arises, including through litigation if necessary."
UCLA election law expert Rick Hasen told LAmag the 28 charges did not appear "strong" and that the timing was likely no coincidence. California has more than 23 million registered voters. If the DOJ's estimate of 20,000 noncitizen registrations is accurate, that would represent about 0.09% of the rolls, Hasen said.
The DOJ also warned election workers directly. A letter from McCotter to the Los Angeles County Counsel's office, copied to Weber and Logan, stated that anyone who "knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens" could face prosecution, according to Spectrum News.
U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian for the Northern District of California said the operation would continue through the November election and beyond.
