“We’re working with counsel and the Secretary of State’s Office to determine the best course of action moving forward,” Casparis said of a DOJ letter.
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. —
A Sacramento County elections spokesman said the county’s elections officials are “working with counsel” as it determines how to respond to a letter from federal officials about its voter rolls.
Ken Casparis joined KCRA 3 to answer questions ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.
He confirmed that Sacramento County was among at least 18 counties whose election offices received a letter from the U.S. Justice Department requesting sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, about voters it suspects are noncitizens.
The letters come as a federal court is reviewing the Trump administration’s efforts to challenge California’s election laws.
In a related development, federal prosecutors have charged 28 individuals with alleged election-related crimes. That includes two people Sacramento County and one from Vacaville.
“We’re working with counsel and the Secretary of State’s Office to determine the best course of action moving forward,” Casparis said of the DOJ’s letter.
Casparis explained that the county manages its voter rolls year-round and “in off-election seasons we’re constantly doing maintenance to make sure that they’re updated.”
He said that county elections staff processes voter registration forms, and eligibility is determined by the Secretary of State’s Office.
KCRA 3’s Mike Cherry asked about the case of a Sacramento man accused of illegal voting who acknowledged to KCRA 3 after being arrested that he had a green card but was not a citizen. The man said he thought he had been qualified to vote because he had a REAL ID.
Casparis said that every registered voter in California, when filling out a voter registration form, must attest under penalty of perjury that they are eligible to vote in California.
“And one of the first things that they attest to, one of the first lines on that form, that attestation, is that they are a United States citizen,” he said.
Asked about the process to remove someone who should not be voting, Casparis said in such cases there would be a lengthy process where the county’s registration team would work with the Secretary of State’s Office to determine whether or not someone needed to be removed.
Casparis also talked about turnout for the midterm election so far.
He said the last midterm elections had about 56% total turnout.
“At this point in that election, we are a little bit ahead,” he said.
As of Monday, the county had received nearly 145,000 ballots for about a 15.5% turnout rate.
Any registered voters in Sacramento County who have not received their ballot should contact the county’s election office, Casparis said.
Tuesday will be the last day the county mails out ballots. But people can visit a vote center or stop by the elections office to be issued a new ballot if they still need one after that, he said.
Casparis also recommended people vote early to give the county more time to process the ballots.
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