DOJ threatens California officials with jail over 20,000 mail ballots
What's next: The warning landed less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms, after the department sued to stop the ballots from being counted.
The Justice Department warned California and Los Angeles County election officials on Oct. 16 that they could face criminal liability if they count mail ballots from more than 20,000 people the Trump administration believes are noncitizens. The threat came a day after the department sued California to block those ballots from being counted.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter wrote that officials who knowingly tabulate such ballots could be treated as aiders and abettors of a federal crime. President Donald Trump amplified the letter on Truth Social and wrote that officials would go to jail for a long time. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has rejected the federal push, calling it an unlawful bid to access protected voter data. Los Angeles County said it could not act on the federal list because Washington did not explain how it was compiled.