The upcoming mid-term elections in 2026 have once again put the spotlight on the issue of election integrity. With the announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice in California on Monday (19th) of charges against 28 foreign nationals for alleged election crimes, tensions between the state government and the federal government on election issues have escalated.
The first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, posted a screenshot of a federal court document on the X social media platform on Tuesday, raising questions about California’s voter qualification verification mechanism.
The screenshot comes from an affidavit submitted to the court by Monica Flores, an official from the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office. In the document, she wrote: “The voter registration office does not have the ability or authorization to verify the citizenship of voters. Apart from the information declared by voters themselves, the office does not independently possess relevant data on immigration, entry and exit, and naturalization records.”
Flores stated in the affidavit that officials “naturally do not have the capability to conduct this identity verification work during elections.”
Essayli interpreted this passage as Los Angeles County election officials admitting that, apart from voters’ self-declarations, the Registrar’s Office has no other independent means of verifying citizenship, and officials “simply take the voters at their word.”
“According to federal law, only citizens have the right to vote in federal elections. However, California has yet to take action on a list involving about 20,000 suspected non-citizens, nor has it agreed to set aside the votes of these individuals separately,” Essayli believes that “in California, the voting rights of American citizens are being diluted.”
The office of California Governor Newsom promptly responded, stating that California does comply with federal law, and relevant regulations allow California to rely on voters’ sworn statements when processing voter registrations, without the need for separate independent verification of their citizenship through documents or databases.
Regarding the mentioned “list of suspected non-citizens,” the Department of Justice had previously requested California to review voter registration data of about 20,000 suspected non-citizens by October 15. Since California did not take relevant actions, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on the 15th. The lawsuit stated that over 20,000 suspected non-citizens in California have registered as voters and will automatically receive mail-in ballots. Newsom stated that the Department of Justice’s lawsuit is baseless.
On Monday morning, federal agents carried out “Operation Protect the Vote” in various California locations, arresting 11 foreign nationals. These 11 individuals are among the 28 people announced by the Department of Justice to be charged on the same day, with the prosecution accusing them of election crimes.
One of those arrested is 72-year-old Belizean national Alexander Muñoz. Around 6 a.m. on Monday morning, federal law enforcement agents raided his residence. Authorities allege that Muñoz falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen when he registered as a voter in September 2019 and subsequently voted in the U.S. presidential elections in 2020, 2022 (twice), and 2024.
The Department of Justice stated that the 28 foreign nationals being prosecuted are all lawful permanent residents, known as “green card” holders. The prosecution accuses them of fraudulently registering to vote in U.S. elections, but as non-citizens, they are not eligible to participate in federal elections. The cases are currently in the prosecution stage.
California officials have stated that even if individual cases of non-citizens illegally voting are proven, it does not necessarily indicate widespread election fraud. They have raised doubts about the accuracy of the Department of Justice’s allegations, pointing out that similar accusations have surfaced in other parts of the U.S. in the past, but some cases were later not substantiated. ◇