OAKLAND (Azat TV) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta sharply rebuked the United States Department of Justice on Saturday over a federal demand directing state election officials to verify approximately 20,000 ballots belonging to suspected noncitizens within 48 hours, The Guardian reported. Speaking to MS Now, Bonta characterized the directive as a partisan effort, stating that the federal agency acted at Donald Trump’s direction. “It is once again the United States Department of Justice politicizing and weaponizing the law to attack its enemies, and it is completely improper,” Bonta told the network.
The federal oversight attempt arrives less than two weeks before the midterm elections, coinciding with a broader national Republican push to target alleged voter fraud among undocumented immigrants. Although federal prosecutors maintain that noncitizen voting undermines electoral integrity, noncitizen voting is documented as extremely rare. In response to the 48-hour verification window, California election personnel warned that the abrupt federal directive threatens to disenfranchise eligible American voters.
State Officials Push Back Against Faulty Lists
Local officials in Los Angeles reported that a high percentage of the individuals featured on the federal government’s target list were actually born in the United States. Governor Gavin Newsom also criticized the administration on social media, writing that the Justice Department was desperate to invent widespread voter fraud by sending county offices lists containing individuals who never voted and voters registered in entirely wrong counties.
Federal defenders of the policy argue that the intervention is necessary to safeguard the electoral process. Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney, defended the enforcement actions in a statement following the recent arrest of 28 foreign nationals accused of fraudulently registering to vote. Essayli asserted that California is mailing ballots to noncitizens and refusing to comply with federal law prohibiting noncitizen voting. The defendants involved in those specific prosecutions are lawful permanent residents possessing legal status in the United States, though they lack authorization to vote.
Evidentiary Concerns and Imminent Legal Showdown
State Attorney General Bonta questioned the empirical basis supporting the federal government’s list of suspected ballots during a recent press conference. According to Bonta, federal authorities provided merely a roster of names without furnishing any underlying evidence or justification regarding why the listed individuals are supposedly ineligible. State officials noted that some county election offices took no action on the short-notice letters, which subsequently triggered a legal battle with the Justice Department.
An appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments regarding the dispute on Tuesday, setting up a high-stakes judicial showdown over state control of elections and federal oversight powers just days before voters head to the polls.