DOJ threatens California with Oct. 15 court fight over voter rolls
What's next: Federal officials gave state and Los Angeles County election leaders 48 hours to review suspected noncitizen registrations.
The Justice Department threatened emergency legal action against California election officials unless they act on a list of suspected noncitizens on the state's voter rolls before the November midterm elections. In letters sent Tuesday, Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter told Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan to review potentially ineligible voters within 48 hours and separate ballots from people whose citizenship cannot be verified. The department set a noon Eastern deadline on Oct. 15. California Attorney General Rob Bonta rejected the move at a Wednesday news conference, calling claims of widespread voter fraud false and saying his office is weighing options with state and county election officials.