FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Federal prosecutors have charged 28 people across California with allegedly registering to vote or voting despite not being U.S. citizens, including three Fresno County residents, as part of the Justice Department’s “Operation Protect the Vote.”
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the charges Monday, saying the individuals were identified during a statewide investigation into suspected noncitizen voter registration and voting. The three Fresno County residents are from Clovis, Fresno and Kerman. All three are charged with voting as a noncitizen in a federal election, a misdemeanor.
Federal officials said the defendants were identified from a list of more than 20,000 people believed to be noncitizens that was provided to California election officials last week. The Justice Department said the state declined to review the list, while California officials have described the department’s demands as legally baseless.
Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters James Kus said his office had not been contacted by the Justice Department about the local cases.
“I’m a little disappointed. Of course, any time we have a voter who shouldn’t be participating, someone who is a non-citizen, someone who has moved and hasn’t updated. So we never want to have someone who is voting and shouldn’t be,” Kus said.
Kus oversees about 530,000 active registered voters in Fresno County. He said California law requires voters to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens when registering to vote. Election officials rely on that certification to determine voter eligibility.
“We’ve had zero contact from the Department of Justice regarding any potential registrants or what their status might be,” Kus said.
The federal action comes as voting is already underway ahead of Election Day. Federal officials have argued the operation is intended to strengthen confidence in elections.
“This is exactly how you ensure integrity in elections, not undermine them,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said.
Lisa Bryant, a political science professor at Fresno State who studies elections, said accusations involving voter fraud and noncitizen voting can affect public confidence in election systems.
“When you are making accusations about the integrity of elections and the security of our voter rolls and the accuracy of our rolls, you really need to be sure about your data,” Bryant said.
Bryant also questioned the reliability of the federal matching process used to identify suspected noncitizens.
“Multiple people, including election officials and academics, have called out that their matches create a lot of false positives,” she said.
The Trump administration last week warned California election officials that knowingly processing ballots cast by suspected noncitizens could expose them to possible prosecution. The warning is part of a broader dispute between federal officials and California over election administration and allegations involving noncitizen voters.
Kus said Fresno County has multiple layers of election security, including chain-of-custody procedures, bipartisan ballot handling and public observation opportunities.
“We’re here for them and we welcome them in to see the whole process. And that openness, we hope, builds trust by giving you the opportunity to see what’s happening,” Kus said.
About 40,000 ballots had been returned in Fresno County as of Monday, a pace Kus described as somewhat slow. Vote centers across the county are scheduled to open Saturday, while 69 ballot drop boxes are already available to voters.
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