Wire reporting: (AP, via LAist)

The U.S. Justice Department sent letters Friday to California county election offices demanding they identify voters on a federal list, turn over related records within 48 hours and sequester ballots whose citizenship cannot be verified, according to county officials and a letter obtained by the Associated Press^1,2,4,5.

The letters follow a federal lawsuit against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan that seeks to stop counting of roughly 20,000 people the department describes as likely noncitizens^1,2,4,5. A hearing is set for Tuesday, and the administration also asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to act by Saturday if a district judge had not ruled^1,2,4.

AP-based accounts, citing the L.A. County registrar, said at least 18 counties received similar letters^1,2,4. The Los Angeles Times, citing Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, said she knew of 15 counties and had heard of others⁵.

A letter to San Bernardino County described 1,133 names on the government's suspected-noncitizen list for that county and asked for Social Security numbers, identification, registration copies and related records^1,2,4. A letter to Contra Costa County from U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian cited 407 people and made the same kind of records demand, the Times reported⁵. Two people with Justice Department credentials delivered Santa Cruz County's letter in person, Webber said, seeking action on 81 names⁵.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said election officials who knowingly process a noncitizen's ballot face legal risk, according to AP accounts^1,2,4. Essayli wrote on X that California does not verify citizenship and that authorities obtained the voter list and identified people they believe are noncitizens, the Times reported⁵. The Justice Department did not respond to the Times⁵.

State and L.A. County lawyers have opposed the demands in court, arguing the request could delay certification, that federal data are unreliable and that citizens could be blocked from having their ballots counted^1,2,4,5. Voting is underway, with more than 23 million registered voters sent mail ballots and more than 330,000 mail ballots already counted, the state said in filings^1,2,4.

Kristin Connelly, Contra Costa County's registrar, said her office follows election law and that "this threat is not helpful and is intended to intimidate"⁵. Logan told fellow clerks the 48-hour deadline was unenforceable and that the letters sought individual-level data previously obtained only by subpoena, according to the Times⁵. Logan's office has said a review of a subset of the 20,000 names found many were born in the United States, were not registered or had never voted⁵.

Earlier in the week, federal authorities charged 28 people from the larger list with illegally registering to vote; some also face charges of illegal voting or false statements on naturalization papers^1,2,4. CBS News reported the Civil Rights Division has filed 31 lawsuits seeking unredacted voter rolls, has lost 26 of those cases and has not won one, and that Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said Friday the department had not shown evidence of massive fraud². California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office declined to comment to the Times⁵.