LA Officials Lack Independent Way to Verify Voter Citizenship, Prosecutor Claims
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli states that election officials rely solely on voter attestation for citizenship, potentially diluting votes of eligible citizens.
Los Angeles election officials possess no independent method to verify a voter's U.S. citizenship beyond their self-attestation, according to Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
Essayli criticized the state's election safeguards, asserting that the votes of eligible American citizens are being diluted because officials have not acted on a list of approximately 20,000 individuals flagged by federal authorities as suspected noncitizens. He stated that these ballots have not been set aside.
"Los Angeles election officials just told a federal court they have no independent way to verify citizenship beyond what voters attest. (They simply take their word for it.)," Essayli wrote on X, formerly Twitter. He added, "Under federal law, only citizens may vote in federal elections. Yet California has not acted on the list of 20,000 suspected noncitizens or agreed to set aside their ballots. American citizens’ votes are being diluted in California."
The Justice Department is intensifying its efforts regarding election integrity in California. On Monday, federal officials announced charges against 28 noncitizens accused of election crimes within the state. The department has also sought a court order to halt the processing of ballots submitted by individuals on voter rolls deemed by the government as "likely noncitizens."
California officials have requested details on the methodology used by federal authorities to identify these individuals but have not yet received the information. Governor Gavin Newsom's press office responded to Essayli's claims, asserting that California adheres to federal law concerning voter registration procedures, specifically citing Section 5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).
"California adheres to Federal Law passed by Congress in the 1990s [see 52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2) (Section 5 of the NVRA)]," the press office stated on X in response to Essayli's post.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter made it clear the Justice Department's stance on the matter, stating, "This Department of Justice will not look the other way while noncitizens vote in federal elections. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for California and LA County."