Justice Department seeks sanctions over public analysis of California voter data

The United States Department of Justice urged a federal judge on Sunday to consider whether to hold an immigrant rights group and its attorneys in contempt of court. ABC News reported that the request came after the organization released an analysis of federal government data containing names of alleged noncitizens registered to vote in California. The federal department defended the accuracy of its list, which includes more than 20,000 people. [1][2]

United States District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg granted the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights access to the federal data set of 20,000 individuals on Friday, according to ABC News. The group, also known as CHIRLA, subsequently published an analysis examining the names provided by the federal government. [1]

As FTMQ Politics reported earlier, the Department of Justice previously requested that California election officials sequester ballots sent to roughly 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters ahead of the midterm elections. Federal law strictly prohibits noncitizens from registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections. [6]

United States District Judge David O. Carter previously rejected a federal bid to stop California from counting up to 20,000 disputed ballots, prompting an appeal from the administration. Chief Judge Boasberg also ordered the federal government to share information regarding voting notices dispatched to multiple states. The Department of Justice is an executive department overseen by the United States Attorney General, a Cabinet position currently held by Todd Blanche. [4][7]