Justice Department threatens states over noncitizen voting

The Justice Department has warned election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that they could face criminal charges if noncitizens vote, escalating the Trump administration’s effort to pressure state and local officials over how they run elections.

The department confirmed that the letters were sent to every state, saying they sought “voluntary compliance in a timely manner with their obligations under federal law to ensure only citizens vote in federal elections.” The letters were signed by Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general who leads the department’s Civil Rights Division.

Dhillon wrote that any election officer who “knowingly retains noncitizens” on state voter lists or “facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots” could face criminal charges. “We encourage you to contact us to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voter lists as required by law,” she wrote.

The letters ask states to respond within five days explaining how they will comply with federal law and how the Justice Department can assist. They also arrive amid a broader federal push to influence election administration, an area traditionally handled by state and local officials.

President Donald Trump and his administration have frequently claimed, without evidence, that large numbers of noncitizens are affecting U.S. elections. There is no proof that noncitizens vote in large numbers in U.S. elections, and states regularly maintain voter rolls to remove people who are ineligible for various reasons.

The Guardian reported that the criminal warnings mark an escalation in a long-running dispute over voter data. The federal government has sought access to state voter rolls containing personal information on millions of Americans, while states have resisted turning over that data. Those disputes have led to lawsuits that the administration has been losing.

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican and the state’s top election official, said she had received another “love letter” from the Justice Department “sprinkled throughout with threats of criminal prosecution.”

“I’m sure I’m not the only chief election officer of a state who is being targeted for following state and federal laws by resisting DOJ’s demands for private voter data that have thus far been ruled illegal by at least a dozen courts,” Henderson wrote on Threads. “This is truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights.”

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, called it “insulting” to suggest that local election officials were not properly maintaining voter lists.

“Arizona’s election officials take their oath to uphold the law seriously,” Fontes said. “Arizona election officials have always worked to ensure that only eligible citizens are registered to vote, and we will continue following Arizona law—not directions that come from political rhetoric or intimidation.”

Talking Points Memo reported that the pressure campaign also includes threats tied to federal funding. FEMA has told states they will lose 20% of their antiterrorism grants unless they move to paper ballots, verify voter citizenship and make other election changes, the New York Times reported.

The demands come four months before Election Day. Previous Trump administration efforts to assert more control over elections have been rejected by federal courts on the grounds that the Constitution gives states authority over federal election administration and gives the president no election role.

In a related dispute, Detroit election officials are pushing back against the Justice Department’s plan to send voting monitors to the city for Michigan’s Aug. 4 primary.

A federal judge also rejected a sweeping Justice Department subpoena tied to the 2020 presidential election in Fulton County, Georgia. U.S. District Judge William M. Ray II, a Trump appointee, quashed the subpoena seeking personal information on every county employee who worked on the election, calling its breadth “staggering.” Ray ruled that “the statute of limitations for any possible crime arising from the 2020 Election has long expired.”