The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed criminal charges against 28 green card holders in California. These individuals are accused of fraudulently registering to vote and casting illegal ballots.
The DoJ announced on Monday that the 28 noncitizens from across California face charges, including making false statements in a naturalization application and fraudulently signing up to vote. These felonies could carry a sentence of five years in prison. The defendants are lawful permanent residents, who possess legal status in the US but are not citizens authorised to vote.
A justice department spokesperson confirmed that 21 of the 28 defendants had cast unlawful ballots. Eleven of the defendants have already been taken into custody, with arrests ongoing. Prosecutors allege the defendants lied under oath in voter registration applications.
California's secretary of state, Shirley Weber, has condemned the justice department's demands as "outrageous," stating that federal officials have made "vague and unsubstantiated allegations" about alleged voter fraud. Acting US Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter acknowledged that the government's list of alleged noncitizen voters in California might not be accurate, stating, "There may be some names on there who, it turns out, ultimately are citizens. We’re not perfect, and that’s why we’ve asked California to cooperate with us."
The justice department also stated that in recent weeks, federal prosecutors have filed charges against a total of 112 people across 20 states for alleged registration offenses and illegal voting.