DOJ tells California to review whether noncitizens got mail ballots

The Justice Department has told California to check whether a set of people who may be noncitizens were mailed ballots for the November election. In an Oct. 13 letter, acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter gave state officials 48 hours to verify each name on a list delivered on a password-protected thumb drive. Where citizenship cannot be confirmed, he asked that ballots be set aside rather than canceled, and that anyone not yet sent a ballot be withheld one until status is settled, CBS News reports.

Dean Logan, who runs elections as registrar-recorder/county clerk in Los Angeles County, said his office had not opened the drive because doing so would violate its data privacy and security rules. He also noted the letter gave no count of individuals or description of the records. A person familiar with the matter said other California counties received similar letters. The step follows a July claim by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that noncitizens appeared on the state's rolls.

It is the latest pressure on Democratic-led states from the Trump administration.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →