The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Orange County Registrar of Voters, Bob Page, demanding access to information about voters removed from the rolls due to non-citizenship. This legal action was taken on Wednesday and highlights concerns about election integrity.
The lawsuit claims that Page is hiding details about individuals who were inappropriately registered to vote. Specifically, it alleges that by withholding sensitive personal information, such as Social Security numbers and driver’s license details, the registrar is not complying with federal law. However, the lawsuit does not accuse anyone of actually voting illegally.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stated, “Voting by noncitizens is a federal crime.” She emphasized that any state or local authority that refuses to provide requested voter information is violating federal election laws.
The situation arose after the Justice Department sent a letter to Orange County officials on June 2, asking for details on non-citizens who had been removed from the voter rolls. This request followed a complaint from a relative of a non-citizen who received a mail ballot. In response, Page reported that over five years, the county identified 17 non-citizens who had registered to vote. Most of these individuals either self-reported their non-citizen status or were identified as ineligible by the district attorney’s office.
While the county provided some information to federal officials, it redacted personal details to protect privacy. The county’s attorneys argue that they are balancing federal disclosure requirements with state laws that restrict sharing private information. They also expressed willingness to create a confidentiality agreement to limit how the Justice Department could use the provided information, but they did not receive a response to this offer.
Legal experts have noted that it is unusual for government agencies to resort to lawsuits over information sharing, as negotiations are typically the norm. Justin Levitt, an election law expert, pointed out that the Justice Department may not need Social Security numbers or driver’s license information to verify that the county is maintaining accurate voter rolls.
The lawsuit raises questions about the federal government’s authority to request voter information dating back to 2020, especially since federal law only requires election officials to keep records for 22 months after an election.
Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner stated that the county is committed to ensuring clean voter rolls and expressed disappointment that the situation escalated to a lawsuit. In contrast, Supervisor Katrina Foley defended the decision to redact certain information, citing the county’s responsibility to protect voter privacy.
In California, voters must verify their identities when registering, and the state has measures in place to penalize fraudulent registrations. In a previous instance, a Canadian citizen pleaded guilty to illegally voting in the 2016 elections in Orange County.
This lawsuit underscores ongoing tensions between federal and local authorities regarding election practices and the handling of voter information. As the case unfolds, it could have implications for how voter registration and election integrity are managed in the future.