Democratic groups and party leaders filed a complaint on Tuesday, 20 October, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to halt federal efforts on state voter rolls and threats against election officials.
The Department of Homeland Security put suspected noncitizens on Nevada's voter rolls at 16,000, a number that fell to 185 and then to zero after verification.
The federal government gave California 48 hours to stop issuing ballots to 20,000 voters. The state refused, and the administration sued in mid-October.
Spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said on Wednesday, 21 October, that every action taken was grounded in the law and was being litigated in open court.
Democratic groups and party leaders filed a civil complaint on Tuesday, 20 October, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, naming President Donald Trump and the Justice Department as defendants. The filers include the association of Democratic governors and the Democratic minority leaders in the House and Senate, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer. They accuse the administration of a campaign of intimidation against election officials in states the party controls, ahead of the midterm votes on 3 November. The plaintiffs want a judge to declare these actions unlawful and order the government to end them, including its threats against state and local officials. They also ask the court to bar federal orders that states disqualify individual voters, and any directive to segregate ballots from registered voters so that those ballots go uncounted.
Federal authorities demanded that California stop issuing ballots to 20,000 voters within 48 hours, citing doubts about their U.S. citizenship. State election authorities refused, and the administration sued in mid-October to force compliance. The plaintiffs say the California estimates were badly compiled, and they point to Nevada, where the Department of Homeland Security put the number of suspected noncitizens on the voter rolls at 16,000. After verification, that figure fell to 185 and then to zero.
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Los Angeles County election officials said in court filings on 20 October that the Justice Department's list is unreliable based on a preliminary analysis, and that some people on it said they were born in the United States. California officials argue that the requested segregation is unfeasible so close to the election and could breach federal and state law. Separately, the Justice Department has charged more than two dozen California residents with violating federal election laws.
The Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday, 21 October, that enforcing federal election law and protecting election integrity were top priorities. Its spokeswoman, Kiersten Pels, said:
“Every action the Department has taken to protect the integrity of this year's elections is grounded in the law and being litigated in open court.”
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis blamed Democrats for opposing election-security measures. Bis said in an email:
“Anyone who illegally votes in our elections will be held accountable.”
Trump has spent years claiming noncitizen voting is widespread, though court reviews and independent studies have found it rare. In mid-October he threatened to imprison California election officials if they counted mail-in ballots from people the administration claimed were noncitizens.
The complaint argues that the Justice and Homeland Security departments have been effectively enlisted in a personal project of the president, with claims of widespread voter fraud serving as the pretext for seizing control of elections. It says the threats fall on state and local officials as well as on voters, particularly naturalized citizens who fear being wrongly targeted and losing their vote. Only U.S. citizens can legally vote in federal elections, and the administration's effort centres on noncitizens registered to vote. Other federal efforts to document voter fraud and obtain state voter rolls have repeatedly fallen apart.
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Democratic groups and party leaders asked a federal court in Washington to halt federal moves against state voter rolls and to bar threats against election officials. The filing comes less than two weeks before the 3 November midterms.
AI text based on reports by La Libre.be, The New York Times, Washington Post and other publishers. Published .