Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent letters to election officials across the country, warning them that they could be charged if they let noncitizens receive ballots or vote in elections.
"Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state's [voter list] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability," Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in the letters, which were sent on July 7.
It is also a crime to prevent people who try to vote from voting, the officials were also told.
Dhillon also outlined various laws that set forth requirements for state and local election officials regarding voter lists.
"We encourage you to contact us to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voter lists as required by law," Dhillon wrote.
A DOJ spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email, "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."
The letters came after the DOJ requested data on registered voters from all states. Several dozen, including Utah, have declined to comply with the request, sparking legal action from the department. Judges have so far ruled against the agency, including a judge who in June said the request sought data that falls outside of records the federal government may require states to produce.
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said in a post on Threads that she received one of the letters from Dhillon.
"I'm sure I'm not the only chief election officer of a state who is being targeted for following state and federal laws by resisting DOJ's demands for private voter data that have thus far been ruled illegal by at least a dozen courts," Henderson said. "This is truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights."
Dhillon also said Tuesday that the DOJ will send election monitors to six states - Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia - during primary elections this year.
The monitors will be focused on issues such as access to polls for disabled voters and whether voting locations are open for the amount of time that is required under federal law.
"It's also important to make sure that our voting is accurate so that every citizen who votes has their vote counted equally without being canceled out by somebody who shouldn't be voting," Dhillon said in a video statement.
Jesus Osete, the DOJ's principal deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a post on X that federal election monitors "are a routine part of every election."