The U.S. Department of Justice has sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, warning that they could face criminal charges if noncitizens are knowingly allowed to remain on voter registration lists. The letters, signed by Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, state that election officials who facilitate ineligible noncitizens in registering or voting could be prosecuted under federal election laws. The move comes as the Trump administration intensifies its focus on election integrity ahead of the November midterm elections.
The warnings mark the latest effort by the administration to increase oversight of state-run elections. President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly argued that noncitizen voting threatens election security, although multiple studies have found such cases to be rare. The Justice Department has also pursued legal action to obtain nonpublic voter data from several states, though those efforts have largely been unsuccessful in court.
The letters have drawn criticism from Democratic election officials, who described them as politically motivated and unnecessary. Michigan officials said the state already has strict safeguards to ensure only eligible citizens can vote, while Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes reaffirmed that election officials would continue to follow state law rather than what he called political intimidation. The Justice Department maintained that the letters simply seek voluntary compliance with federal laws requiring that only U.S. citizens participate in federal elections.
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