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Feds charge 28 in voter registration sweep in California

By The Associated Press and Tierney Sneed

Federal authorities charged more than two dozen foreign nationals Monday in California as part of a statewide sweep targeting people who officials say have illegally registered and voted in US elections.

The arrests are part of a Trump administration effort to root out noncitizen voting ahead of next month’s midterm elections, even though data shows that the problem is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.

They also reflect a further escalation in a simmering voter roll fight between the federal government and California that came into focus last week when the Justice Department sued the state and later warned that local election workers who knowingly process or tabulate ballots submitted by noncitizen voters are at risk of investigation and potential prosecution.

That lawsuit, which legal experts described as a “long shot” and “a press release masquerading as litigation,” seeks to block state election officials from counting the ballots of some 20,000 people the administration believes could be non-citizens.

The Justice Department said the 28 people who were charged Monday as part of a sweep dubbed Operation Protect the Vote are lawful permanent residents — but not US citizens who are permitted to legally vote. They are charged with crimes including making false statements on a naturalization application and submitting fraudulent voter registrations.

“This causes real damage to real elections and real damage to American citizens,” Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, said during a news conference in Los Angeles to announce the charges.