President Donald Trump's Department of Justice dropped a threat for election officials on Tuesday, prompting a red state's top election official to reject the demand, Democracy Docket reported.
Republican Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson called out the federal agency for its attacks on election officials in multiple states after the DOJ warned that the leaders could face criminal prosecution over potential noncitizen voting. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent the letters to Michigan, Nevada, and Utah, saying that these states had five days to prove how they plan to "comply with federal voter eligibility laws."
"Got another love letter this morning from the DOJ sprinkled throughout with threats of criminal prosecution," Henderson wrote in a post on Threads.
"I’m sure I’m not the only chief election officer of a state who is being targeted for following state and federal laws by resisting DOJ’s demands for private voter data that have thus far been ruled illegal by at least a dozen courts. This is truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights," Henderson wrote.
The letters portray standard voter roll upkeep as a possible criminal issue. The DOJ cautioned that election officials could face prosecution if they knowingly keep noncitizens on the voter rolls or permit them to receive and cast ballots.
"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.
The move was the latest in Trump's election agenda ahead of the midterms.
"The letters come as Trump and his allies continue to push restrictions aimed at alleged widespread noncitizen voting — a problem for which they have not produced evidence," according to Democracy Docket.