The Justice Department said Monday it charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with federal election-related crimes, alleging they registered to vote or cast ballots despite not being U.S. citizens. Federal authorities arrested 11 of those charged, the department said.
The defendants are green card holders, who may reside legally in the United States but cannot vote in U.S. elections, according to the Justice Department. The department said the complaints include allegations of fraudulent voter registration and illegally obtained ballots; it also cited false statements in a naturalization application among the charges. The arrests were part of “Operation Protect the Vote,” involving all four California-based U.S. attorney’s offices, the department said. NPR reported that local officials described the federal actions as election interference. The Guardian said Democrats and voting-rights groups viewed broader federal efforts against alleged noncitizen voting as intended to raise doubts about upcoming midterm results.