From NPR · · 3m
Trump's voter fraud hunt faces court losses but continues
The administration pressed states to purge voter rolls of noncitizens before the election. Courts blocked it. Federal prosecutors say they will keep investigating.
In brief
The administration pressed states to purge voter rolls of noncitizens before the election. Courts blocked it. Federal prosecutors say they will keep investigating. The Trump administration's push to remove noncitizens from voter rolls faced multiple court defeats before the election, but federal prosecutors say…
Administration escalates noncitizen hunt
In the weeks before Election Day, the Trump administration intensified pressure on election officials, especially in California, to crack down on illegal voting by noncitizens.
DOJ claims 20,000 noncitizens in California
In mid-October, federal officials alleged they had found twenty thousand likely noncitizens on California's voter rolls. The Department of Justice sued to force election officials not to count their ballots.
Courts reject DOJ's demands
A federal judge and a federal appeals court rejected the DOJ's requests. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. The DOJ dropped its lawsuit last week.
Subpoenas sent to California counties
In the days before Election Day, U.S. attorneys in California sent grand jury subpoenas to several counties asking for records about how local officials responded to DOJ demands. The DOJ has not rescinded these subpoenas.
Federal prosecutors vow to continue
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a Thursday press conference that the administration will continue to investigate election integrity cases criminally and civilly, no matter what the election results were.
“We are actively, and will continue to investigate election integrity cases criminally and civilly”
Court rulings create obstacles
Recent unfavorable rulings for the Trump administration have created new obstacles for future federal attempts to intervene on state voter list maintenance, according to voting rights attorneys.
Judge: DOJ lacks authority
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., found that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security lack statutory authority to distribute lists of purported noncitizens to election officials.
Earlier ruling vacates voter roll project
In October, a D.C.-based judge vacated the DOJ's project of requesting unredacted voter rolls from states to compare with federal databases. The ruling found those actions were unlawful and disenfranchised eligible voters.
Criminal threats against election workers
In October letters to every California county, DOJ officials warned that anyone who tabulates ballots cast by noncitizens risks becoming an aider and abettor to a federal crime.
“They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!”
Election officials reject intimidation
James Williams, county executive for California's Santa Clara County, said criminal threats against government employees trying to lawfully administer elections strikes at the heart of what it means to live in a free society.
Federal lists riddled with errors
Data experts from UCLA's Voting Rights Project found that forty two percent of the DOJ's list of twenty thousand names did not appear on California's current voter roll and that naturalized citizens were on the…
Santa Cruz County finds major inaccuracies
Santa Cruz County's top election official Tricia Webber wrote that of eighty one people DOJ listed as suspected noncitizens, more than half are not registered in Santa Cruz County and some dates of birth were…
Noncitizen voting remains exceptionally rare
Compared to overall numbers of voters, noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare. Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt expects a trickle of actual follow-through on actual cases of noncitizens voting, consistent with decades of data.
Congress may scrutinize federal methodology
With Democrats winning control of Congress, lawmakers could hold hearings probing how federal officials came up with their list, said David Becker, executive director for the Center for Election Innovation and Research.
At a glance
The Trump administration's push to remove noncitizens from voter rolls faced multiple court defeats before the election, but federal prosecutors say investigations will continue.
