Washington, Oct 19 (IANS) Federal prosecutors in California on Monday announced criminal charges against 28 lawful permanent residents accused of illegally registering to vote in American elections, with 11 arrested in a coordinated statewide operation that has intensified a dispute between the Trump administration and California officials over voter eligibility.
The Justice Department said the defendants, all foreign nationals holding green cards, were charged with offences including fraudulent voter registration and making false statements in applications for US citizenship.
The arrests were carried out under an operation called “Operation Protect the Vote”, involving all four federal prosecutors’ offices in California.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the defendants allegedly declared themselves American citizens on voter registration forms despite lacking US citizenship.
Prosecutors said several subsequently cast ballots in US elections and later denied having registered or voted when applying for naturalisation.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Lawful permanent residents are authorised to live and work in the United States but are generally prohibited from voting in federal elections. Voting unlawfully or making false declarations about citizenship can carry serious criminal and immigration consequences.
Federal prosecutors said the charges include making false statements in naturalisation applications and fraudulent voter registration. Each offence carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
The 11 people arrested Monday were expected to make their initial appearances in federal court later in the day. Prosecutors said no pleas would be taken during those proceedings.
The arrests came amid a separate confrontation between the federal government and California over voter registration records ahead of the November elections.
Federal authorities provided California officials with a list of individuals on October 13 and requested that their mail-in ballots be set aside pending verification of citizenship.
The department said California declined to take the requested action, prompting the federal government to file a lawsuit seeking judicial intervention.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the 28 defendants were among more than 20,000 people whom federal authorities had identified as likely noncitizens on California’s voter registration rolls.
“Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week,” McCotter said.
He called on California to verify the citizenship status of those identified before mail-in ballots were counted.
The figure of more than 20,000 represents the federal government’s assessment of potentially ineligible registrants, not a judicial finding that those individuals registered or voted illegally.
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli accused California officials of failing to comply with federal election requirements.
“California is mailing ballots to noncitizens, and they are refusing to comply with federal law, which makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote,” Essayli said.
–IANS
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