CALIFORNIA—On July 28, multiple news outlets reported on the cases of the Department of Justice v. California after noncompliance with an order to disclose voter rolls. The Trump Administration reportedly sent out close to a dozen such letters aiming to keep states in compliance with voter integrity laws, ensuring that only U.S. citizens are voting in U.S. elections.
The following information came directly from the D.O.J.’s letter, the full text of which may be found on the D.O.J. website:
“The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Robert Page, the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Orange County, California for refusing to provide the Justice Department with records pertaining to the removal of non-citizens from its voter registration list and for failing to maintain an accurate voter list in violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
Voting by non-citizens is a federal crime, and states and counties that refuse to disclose all requested voter information are in violation of well-established federal elections laws” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Removal of non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls is critical to ensuring that the State’s voter rolls are accurate and that elections in California are conducted without fraudulent voting. The Department of Justice will hold jurisdictions that refuse to comply with federal voting laws accountable.”
Maureen S. Riordan, Senior Counsel Acting Chief, Voting Section in the Civil Rights Division of the D.O.J. sent additional correspondence was sent to Mr. Dean Logan of Los Angeles Registrar of Voters. An additional letter was sent to the San Francisco Department of Elections.
doj-letter-to-la-county
A copy of the official complaint, by The United States of America, plaintiff v. Robert Page, in his official capacity, as Registrar of Voters for Orange County, California as the defendant, may be found here.
ecf1_complaint
The following came directly from the website of California Secretary of State, Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., regarding the requirements to vote in a U.S. election.
“Who can pre-register to vote?
To pre-register to vote in California, you must: be 16 or 17 years old and meet all of the other requirements to vote. You will automatically be registered to vote on your 18th birthday.”
Canyon News did search Dr. Weber’s website but did not find any citizenship requirements for voting in a U.S. election.
