DOJ Warns States: Enforce Voter Eligibility Laws or Face Prosecution
The Justice Department demands immediate compliance on voter eligibility from all 50 states, threatening criminal prosecution for election officials who allow noncitizens on registration lists as federal monitors deploy to swing states.
The Justice Department drew a line in the sand on Tuesday, warning every chief election official in the country that allowing noncitizens to vote could trigger criminal prosecution. The ultimatum arrives as federal monitors begin deploying to swing states and primary elections loom, confronting years of resistance to election integrity measures that 65 percent of voters back.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon signed the July 7 letters sent to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The correspondence lays out criminal liability for election officers who knowingly retain noncitizens on voter registration lists. "Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state's statewide voter registration list or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability," Dhillon wrote in letters obtained by multiple news outlets.
States received five days to submit compliance plans. Dhillon told the Washington Examiner in a July interview that every legitimate vote canceled by a noncitizen vote represents a fundamental problem. The DOJ simultaneously announced deployment of federal election monitors to 15 jurisdictions across six states including Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia.
The enforcement push lands just before primary elections and ahead of the November midterms that could shift control of Congress. The Trump administration has pressed forward despite losing all 13 federal court attempts to obtain state voter data since September. The SAVE America Act, which passed the House in February, remains stalled in the Senate due to Democratic opposition.
Conservative activist Scott Presler pointed to what he sees as a double standard in federal enforcement. "President Biden's administration sent election monitors to states in both 2022 & 2024," Presler stated.
Progressive state officials immediately characterized the DOJ action as political intimidation. Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar called the letters threats designed to create chaos with the midterm election approaching. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes asserted his state would follow Arizona law, not directions that come from political rhetoric or intimidation.
Aguilar specifically referenced protecting his state's Latino voters. "Those Latino voters have power in the message that they send when they go to the ballot box," he told Democracy Docket. "When you have two Latino secretaries of state in those two states, you better believe we're going to stand up and push back against this bullshit," Aguilar said.
Federal courts have blocked the DOJ's voter roll requests at every turn. Judge Thomas E. Johnston dismissed the DOJ's West Virginia lawsuit on July 13, marking the department's 13th consecutive loss in federal court. "Given the lack of an adequate basis or purpose, one is left to wonder what the real purpose was for the Justice Department to go to the trouble of filing civil actions like this one all around the nation," Johnston wrote in his dismissal order.
Dhillon acknowledged the legal obstacles but vowed to continue enforcement. She told Just the News that the department is trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon because U.S. attorneys' offices lack a culture of pursuing these cases. The DOJ has secured about two dozen noncitizen voting prosecutions recently with 90 more cases under investigation.
DOJ officials argue documented evidence justifies the crackdown. Cooperating states uncovered hundreds of thousands of dead people and tens of thousands of noncitizens on registration lists. North Carolina identified 34,000 dead voters in April, while Michigan removed 1.4 million registrations since 2019. The Heritage Foundation database documents 100 cases of attempted noncitizen voting since 1982.
A Tea Party Patriots Action/McLaughlin & Associates survey shows 65 percent of voters believe states should verify registration rolls against Department of Homeland Security records. A Democracy Defense Project poll of Wisconsin voters in April 2025 found 47 percent were very confident that votes were accurately cast and counted.
Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin framed the resistance as partisan. "Obviously, political parties that want to cheat," Grothman said. "They will do what they can to fight to prevent photo ID in those states." He argued that parties resist verification because they want to cheat.
Seventeen states have voluntarily cooperated with DOJ data requests while 30 face ongoing legal battles. The department plans to expand its monitor program for November's general election beyond the 15 jurisdictions currently targeted. The five-day response deadline underscores the administration's commitment to securing elections before voters head to the polls.