Bonta Rejects 48-Hour Federal Order to Verify 20,000 California Ballots

Federal prosecutors gave California election officials 48 hours to verify the citizenship status of approximately 20,000 voters. The deadline arrived on Friday, less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

Attorney General Rob Bonta called the move improper on Saturday. He accused the Justice Department of acting on Donald Trump's instructions to attack its political enemies. "It is once again the United States Department of Justice politicizing and weaponizing the law to attack its enemies, and it is completely improper," Bonta told MS Now.

The DOJ sent the list of names to counties to secure the vote. It asked officials to provide data for the Department of Homeland Security to check citizenship quickly. The department argued that this process would ensure the most secure election in California history.

State officials questioned the data's accuracy. Los Angeles county officials said a high percentage of the people on the list were born in the United States. Bonta noted that prosecutors provided only names without explaining why those individuals were ineligible. He said the state was ready to review the evidence but had received none.

Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the effort on social media. He claimed the department sent lists of people who never voted and voters from the wrong county. He labeled the situation an absolute clown show. Representative Pete Aguilar, who represents a district in south-west San Bernardino County, said voter intimidation has no place in the democracy.

The dispute follows a recent charge against 28 foreign nationals for fraudulently registering to vote. Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, said the arrests proved California was mailing ballots to noncitizens. The defendants are lawful permanent residents, meaning they have legal status but are not citizens.

Some state officials ignored the letters sent Friday because of the tight timeline. That inaction triggered a legal fight. An appeals court is scheduled to hear the case on Tuesday.