The DOJ is threatening to jail election officials over a problem they made up
The Justice Department just sent a spicy five-day ultimatum to all 50 states, warning local officials they could face actual prison time if noncitizens vote. Spoiler alert: election officials of all political stripes are absolutely not having it.
The DOJ just mailed a bunch of seven-page "love letters" to all 50 states and D.C., demanding they explain—within five days—exactly how they plan to stop noncitizens from voting. And if they don't comply? Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon politely reminded them that state officials could face criminal prosecution.
Here is the kicker: noncitizen voting in federal elections is already highly illegal and incredibly rare. But Donald Trump has been banging this drum for years, and now the feds are acting like they found a massive conspiracy.
Instead of being intimidated, state election officials are just incredibly annoyed. Deidre Henderson, the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Utah, called it "truly bizarre behavior" and accused the feds of demanding private voter data that courts have already ruled they can't have. Meanwhile, Arizona's Democratic Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes, basically told them to stop with the political theater and let local workers do their jobs.
Even former government voting lawyers are calling this out as a desperate, performative stunt. It is basically the legal equivalent of a loud, empty bark from a dog that has been trying to find a scent for eighteen months and came up with absolutely nothing.
Sending threatening letters to state employees is certainly one way to run a federal agency, even if it looks less like law enforcement and more like a very expensive PR campaign.
Source: The New York Times
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