Ahead of the Midterms, DOJ Charges 28 Green Card Holders and Asks California to Delay Processing Ballots Returned by Voters Federal Officials Say Are "Likely Noncitizens"

According to NPR, with about two weeks left before voting day in the U.S. midterm elections, the Department of Justice has charged 28 green card holders in California on suspicion of unlawfully registering to vote or voting in U.S. elections. NPR did not report that a court has ruled in any of the cases or that the defendants have pleaded guilty, so these remain untested allegations.

More directly affecting the counting process, the Justice Department filed a separate emergency request. The department asks California not to process ballots returned by voters whom the federal government calls "likely noncitizens," and argues that the relevant ballots should be set aside and counted only after the investigation is complete. California has asked the federal government to explain the basis for making that determination but has not received an answer. NPR also did not say whether a court has approved the request or whether any ballots have already been held. It is a request pending before the court, not a court order withholding ballots.

Last week, the Justice Department also sued California and Los Angeles County because local officials refused to investigate the government's allegations of noncitizen voting. NPR said the series of actions marks a significant escalation of the Trump administration's confrontation with California over the voting system before the midterm elections. The dispute has moved beyond criminal charges against individuals to whether state and local governments are required to investigate federal allegations, and whether the federal list is sufficient to change how ballots are handled. Federal enforcement authority and state election administration have thus come into direct conflict.

Election law expert Miles Parks told NPR that, given the Justice Department's repeated attempts to change state election procedures, along with the fact that voting is about two weeks away and ballots have already been mailed out, experts believe the department is unlikely to succeed in changing how ballots are processed. NPR also cited other experts' concerns that federal law enforcement agencies could use the allegations to withhold ballots during the counting period; many local election officials have told county prosecutors to be on standby.

NPR did not indicate whether the 28 people charged overlap with the voters on the federal list. The report also cited research saying that many lawful permanent residents register to vote because they misunderstand the rules; that does not establish whether each defendant in this case violated the law or acted intentionally. NPR also did not disclose how the federal list was compiled, how many people it covers or the scope of the evidence supporting it. Individual criminal charges must be established through evidence of specific conduct, while a statewide emergency request could rely on a list to change ballot handling in bulk; the two cannot be conflated.

At present, there is no indication that a court has approved the emergency request, and no evidence that a full batch of ballots has been withheld. But ballots have already been mailed out and only about two weeks remain before the election; if local authorities set aside, postpone or withhold ballots according to the list before verification is complete, any errors in the list could make unaware voters bear the cost of delays. The experts' doubts about the Justice Department's chances of success, as described by NPR, expose the core of this escalation: whether federal law enforcement agencies can invoke an election-crime investigation to pressure state election agencies into changing ballot-processing procedures while the evidence and procedures remain incomplete. The controversy is no longer only about whether the 28 defendants committed crimes, but also about who has the authority to set the threshold for investigations and ballot handling.