WASHINGTON (TNND) — A social media post by Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor is drawing new attention to how voter citizenship is verified in the state, as the U.S. Department of Justice escalates its election-related legal fight with California.
On social media, Bill Essayli, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, shared a portion of an official court declaration filed by the Los Angeles County assistant registrar. In his post, Essayli wrote: “Massive concession: Los Angeles election officials just told a federal court they have no independent way to verify citizenship beyond what voters attest.”
The declaration states the registrar’s office is not equipped or authorized to verify voter citizenship because it does not independently house citizenship-related information beyond the voter attestation, as identified in federal and state laws.
It’s a stunning admission and it just shows that they’re unwilling to comply with federal law,” Essayli told Fox News.
The post came after the DOJ filed a federal lawsuit against California seeking to review and remove more than 20,000 people the federal government believes are likely noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls. The DOJ also announced this week it is charging 28 noncitizens with election crimes in the state.
The 28 arrests you saw are just the tip of the iceberg because California won’t police itself. The United States is going in and doing it,” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the DOJ Harmeet Dhillon told Fox Business this week.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office responded to Essayli’s post, writing: “California adheres to Federal Law passed by Congress in the 1990s [see 52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2) (Section 5 of the NVRA)] May want to brush up on your election law before tweeting. Perhaps Second Assistant is more apt from now on?”
The DOJ has requested complete, unredacted voter-registration lists from 49 states plus Washington, D.C., and has brought voter-data lawsuits against 30 jurisdictions, including D.C. and California. Currently, 36 states have voter ID requirements for in-person voting. Twenty-four have photo ID laws, and 12 accept non-photo identification.
California could participate in the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program (SAVE) which has been around since the 1980s, if the state wanted to verify citizenship. The state uses the program for some public benefits programs, including Medi-Cal.