Butte County clerk says DOJ’s sloppy list of alleged non-citizen voters came with a prosecution threat
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Butte County clerk-recorder Keaton Denlay said a Department of Justice letter delivered a badly formatted list of 47 alleged non-citizen voters filled with errors, while warning officials they could face criminal liability if they processed the ballots.
Butte County clerk-recorder Keaton Denlay said a Department of Justice (DOJ) agent delivered a printed spreadsheet that listed 47 individuals the federal government claimed were "likely" non-citizens registered to vote. Denlay described the document as disorganized and riddled with missing and duplicated information, saying it did not even align with the DOJ’s own letter, which demanded that the county segregate the matching mail-in ballots within 48 hours.
Denlay said the two-page list actually contained 46 names, including one duplicate, and that 32 of the names were not on the county’s active voter rolls. Seven entries lacked enough identifying information — such as full names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, or Social Security numbers — to make any meaningful verification possible.
"If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime," the DOJ letter read.
Denlay said the county could not comply with the demand because California law puts the burden of proof on challengers to provide extraordinary evidence of ineligibility. He said the DOJ had failed to meet that burden.
The letter, signed by U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, gave the county a 48-hour deadline to respond. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment, and a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson did not respond.
Other California county registrars have reported similar letters, with some saying the lists include names not currently registered to vote. Legal analysts have suggested that the DOJ’s threats may be designed to pressure local officials, while state officials are still acting within the law by refusing to comply with the demands.