Director of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon (Credit: CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent letters to election officials across all 50 states, asking the state officials how they intend to comply with federal law to ensure that noncitizens do not vote. The DOJ gave every state five days to respond to the Department’s demands.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote in the letters to state elections officials, “Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s [state voter registration list] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability.”
She noted that it is a crime for two or more people to coordinate to deprive Americans of their constitutional rights.
“We encourage you to contact us to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voter lists as required by law,” she continued.
The Justice Department sent their letters to the state elections officials as President Donald Trump has demanded that the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require Americans to show proof of citizenship in person to register to vote. He has vowed not to sign other bills into law unless the Senate passes his election integrity bill. “The Department sent these letters to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, asking for voluntary compliance in a timely manner with their obligations under federal law to ensure only citizens vote in federal elections,” a Justice Department spokesperson said.