Bonta’s filing came about a day after federal prosecutors announced they had charged more than two-dozen California residents—all green card-holders, rather than citizens—who either voted or attempted to register to vote in violation of federal law.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has asked a federal judge to dismiss a Trump administration lawsuit that would force the state to set aside an estimated 20,000 ballots that may have been inadvertently mailed to non-citizens.
According to CalMatters, Bonta has since said that the lawsuit, and its allegations, “borders on the absurd.”
“At best, this litigation is a reckless political stunt,” Bonta wrote in a filing. “At worst, it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians this election.”
Bonta’s filing came about a day after federal prosecutors announced they had charged more than two-dozen California residents—all green card-holders, rather than citizens—who either voted or attempted to register to vote in violation of federal law.
In an October press release, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said his agency recently concluded a “preliminary analysis” that “identified a significant number of individuals in California who are likely noncitizens and appear to be registered to vote; the analysis and review remain ongoing.”
“This is completely unacceptable,” Mullin said, “as even one noncitizen vote cancels out the ballot of an American citizen and undermines our elections. DHS is committed to identifying unlawful voting, protecting the integrity of federal elections, and ensuring that only eligible American citizens elect America’s leaders.”
California officials have since noted that the number of charged individuals represent less than .0001% of the 23 million voters currently registered across the state.
Bonta also emphasized that the Trump administration has filed a number of election-related lawsuits against other states, losing time and time again.
“The government has lobbed allegations of widespread voter fraud at the states, only for those allegations to crumble under scrutiny,” Bonta wrote. “As one court recently noted, the federal government’s citizenship records are ‘known to be unreliable.’”
“To date, DHS has not provided evidence, documentation, or any other information to the Secretary’s Office in support of its assertions that there ‘may be’ noncitizens registered to vote in California,” Bonta wrote.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged that “any credible allegation of voter fraud should be taken seriously and investigated,” but questioned the Trump administration’s decision to file suit mere days ahead of the midterm election.
“If the feds were serious about this, they would have done this long ago—not in the middle of people voting, which inherently and needlessly sows distrust and doubt in our democracy,” Newsom wrote in a social media post.
Sources
‘Borders on the absurd.’ California fights Trump lawsuit to set aside 20,000 ballots
