Justice Department defends list of suspected noncitizen voters in court filings

The U.S. Justice Department defended the accuracy of a list alleging more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens registered to vote, according to WTOP reporting on a case overseen by a Washington, D.C.-based federal judge.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg allowed the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) access to federal data on the list but ordered the group not to disclose names and to use the data only to argue their legal standing to challenge the Trump administration's use of the list.

The immigrant rights group’s analysis, filed in court, found over 40% of the names did not appear in California’s voter file and identified some individuals likely naturalized U.S. citizens, suggesting inaccuracies in the list.

The Justice Department responded by saying the group's analysis violated the court order and was irrelevant to the plaintiffs' legal standing. It also suggested the judge refer the matter for a possible criminal contempt investigation.

Alberto Lammers, spokesperson for UCLA’s Voting Rights Project, which conducted the analysis, stated that the plaintiffs and experts fully complied with court orders.

Separately, the Justice Department appealed a ruling that barred it from requiring election offices to remove possible noncitizens from voter rolls or separate their ballots, according to WTOP.