Rep. Mark DeSaulnier is challenging a federal demand that Contra Costa County set aside ballots returned by voters whose citizenship the Justice Department has questioned.
The demand concerns a federal list of 407 names, not a confirmed count of unlawful or returned ballots. It affects election administration in the county that includes Walnut Creek ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
DeSaulnier, a Democrat who represents Walnut Creek, criticized the demand in a statement quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle.
“I am deeply concerned by the escalating weaponization of the Justice Department to interfere with the November 3rd election,” he said.
The Chronicle reported that U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian sent Contra Costa County a letter Oct. 23 seeking citizenship checks and the separation of ballots returned by flagged voters. Officials were given 48 hours to respond.
The federal allegations have not established that everyone on the list is a noncitizen or has voted.
Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder Kristin B. Connelly questioned the reliability of the federal data in an interview with The Associated Press.
Los Angeles County officials also challenged the statewide list. According to the AP’s account of a court filing, a preliminary review of 200 names found that more than 40% had canceled registrations, more than 70% had no voting history and nearly four in 10 were born in the United States.
The county letters followed an Oct. 15 federal lawsuit seeking to prevent California from counting ballots associated with roughly 20,000 people the government identified as potentially ineligible.
A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Oct. 25 and concluded without issuing a ruling, ABC News reported. ABC News reported Oct. 25 that a district court hearing was scheduled for Oct. 27.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kiersten Pels told the AP on Oct. 24 that the department was seeking cooperation rather than cancellation of voter registrations. Federal prosecutors have also warned that officials could face prosecution if they knowingly process a noncitizen’s ballot.
Separately, the Justice Department announced Oct. 19 that 28 people in California faced election-related criminal charges. The department said those defendants appeared on its statewide list. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty.
Contra Costa County voters can reach the elections office at 925-335-7800, according to the California secretary of state’s county directory.
Ballots returned in person must arrive by 8 p.m. Nov. 3. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by the county elections office by Nov. 10, according to the state’s election deadlines.
