From NBC Bay Area · · 1m 40s
Trump sues California over noncitizen mail-in ballots
Trump administration sues California to block counting alleged noncitizen mail-in ballots.
In brief
Trump administration sues California to block counting alleged noncitizen mail-in ballots. Trump administration sued California to prevent counting mail-in ballots from 20,000 alleged noncitizens until their citizenship is confirmed. Originally reported by NBC Bay Area.
Trump administration sues California
Trump administration sued California election officials to block counting mail-in ballots from 20,000 alleged noncitizens until citizenship is confirmed.
Justice Department deadline missed
California officials failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to review a list of 20,000 names the federal government says are likely noncitizens.
List sent to Los Angeles County
The list was sent directly to Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan on Tuesday via a password-protected thumb drive with a handwritten note.
California's voter roll size
California has over 23 million registered voters, with roughly half being Democrats, and a handful of competitive congressional races.
California Secretary of State response
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the federal government hasn't provided evidence that 20,000 names on voter rolls are noncitizens.
Election law expert opinion
Election law expert David Becker called the lawsuit 'fairly frivolous' and said it could set the stage for false election claims.
Security concerns
Logan said his office received the thumb drive with a handwritten password note but considered it insecure, as most election offices wouldn't accept such devices.
California Attorney General response
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said state officials won't withhold ballots for alleged noncitizens and that the Trump administration is violating federal law.
Trump administration's stance
The Trump administration claims the federal government sought to work collaboratively with California to identify noncitizens but says the state made no serious effort to do so.
Here's the gist
Trump administration sued California to prevent counting mail-in ballots from 20,000 alleged noncitizens until their citizenship is confirmed.
