US President Donald Trump has threatened lengthy prison sentences for California officials amid a growing confrontation over mail-in ballots and allegations of noncitizen voting, intensifying a political battle just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
The dispute centres on more than 20,000 people whom the Trump administration suspects of being noncitizens and who allegedly received mail-in ballots in California. The US Justice Department has warned Los Angeles County and state election officials that counting ballots returned by these individuals could expose them to criminal liability if they knowingly facilitate unlawful voting.
In a letter released on Friday, acting US Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter urged Los Angeles County and California’s secretary of state to reconsider their refusal to take the measures sought by the federal government.
“Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” McCotter wrote.
Trump subsequently shared the letter on his Truth Social platform, adding a stark warning that those involved would face lengthy prison sentences.
The warning followed a series of increasingly forceful moves by the administration. Earlier in the week, federal officials gave California 48 hours to examine a list of suspected noncitizen voters, threatening legal action if the state failed to comply. On Thursday, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent California from counting the disputed ballots.
California officials have challenged the federal government’s demands, arguing that the administration has not provided sufficient information to justify its claims or explain how the list of suspected noncitizens was compiled.
Los Angeles County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison said the county could not meet the Justice Department’s demands because the government had failed to explain the methodology behind the list. McCotter’s latest letter maintained that federal authorities had relied on internal immigration records and data-matching procedures.
An earlier communication from McCotter said the Justice Department had supplied county officials with a password-protected thumb drive containing the names of individuals the government believed were likely to be noncitizens who had been sent mail-in ballots.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has also pushed back against the federal effort. Her office referred to an earlier statement accusing the Justice Department of attempting to gain unlawful access to protected voter information and purge voter rolls, actions she said risk creating confusion and undermining public confidence in elections.
Los Angeles County’s counsel office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday’s warning.
Dispute unfolds amid broader voter-roll scrutiny
The confrontation is part of a wider campaign by the Trump administration to investigate voter registration records and pursue allegations of unlawful voting by noncitizens.
Trump said in July that his administration had identified evidence of more than 275,000 noncitizens registered to vote. However, the number of people who had actually cast ballots was not established.
Research has consistently found that noncitizen voting in US elections is exceedingly rare. Past efforts to verify citizenship have also mistakenly classified some naturalised American citizens as noncitizens, raising concerns about the reliability of screening systems and the possibility of eligible voters being wrongly flagged.
Since July, the Justice Department has intensified prosecutions involving people accused of voting illegally without US citizenship. Meanwhile, the White House has pressed federal agencies to accelerate reviews of voter registration lists from at least 47 states obtained by the Department of Homeland Security, according to an internal email.
With the midterm elections approaching, the clash over California’s mail ballots has become another flashpoint in the national debate over election integrity, federal authority and safeguards against the wrongful exclusion of eligible voters.
Clarify the disputed ballot countTighten the opening paragraphs
