Lock Them Up: Trump Promises Prison Time for CA Officials Pushing Noncitizen Votes

President Trump put California election officials on notice Friday, announcing they could face years in prison if they proceed with counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 people the administration has identified as likely noncitizens.

The warning came in a new Justice Department letter to Los Angeles County Assistant Counsel Peter Bollinger, which said noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime and that knowingly facilitating it is equally unlawful.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter wrote that officials who count those ballots risk being treated as aiders and abettors to a federal crime. He urged them to reverse their refusal to take steps the administration says are necessary to deter fraud.

"The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant," McCotter warned. "Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime, and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful."

"Your assertion that ballots must be counted simply because California’s registration system relies on self-attestation does not relieve election officials of their obligations under federal law when they are on actual notice of noncitizen voting."

NEW: In a new letter to LA County, the DOJ warns that if the County allows ballot processors to tabulate the votes of alleged non-citizens, they are opening themself to federal criminal prosecution. "If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime."

— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) October 16, 2026

Trump amplified the letter on Truth Social and added a very direct warning.

"They will all go to jail for a long period of time!" he said.

The escalation comes less than three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections and just days after the department had given California a 48-hour deadline to review the list of alleged noncitizen voters.

On Thursday, the Justice Department filed an emergency lawsuit in federal court seeking to block the state from counting ballots until it could verify citizenship status.

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... every active registered voter on its voter rolls, whether a voter has requested a mail ballot or not. 

We provided California an opportunity to self correct its records and we requested that it segregate the suspected illegal ballots for the upcoming election. California has refused to comply and intends to facilitate noncitizens in voting, which is a violation of federal law. 

So, today we filed an emergency court action against California seeking to ensure that noncitizens who received ballots in California do NOT vote in the upcoming election. Election integrity is a top priority for Americans and the Justice Department.

That suit followed California officials’ refusal to segregate the mail ballots of the individuals flagged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Homeland Security Investigations, even though California automatically mails a ballot to every active registered voter.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) insists that the federal government has failed to provide sufficient evidence to question those voters' eligibility.

In late August, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced the arrest of Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores, a Honduran national charged with two felonies for unlawfully registering to vote in California and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. 

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli argued that California’s permissive registration system makes it far too easy for noncitizens to get on the rolls and receive mail ballots.

"Because states like California allow non-citizens to easily register to vote and receive a ballot by mail, there is no telling how many non-citizens are currently registered," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. "It is time for California to comply with [Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon's] request for a comprehensive audit of its voter rolls to protect the integrity of our elections."

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...deportation if convicted. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

In a letter to Weber a year ago, Dhillon demanded a complete electronic copy of the state’s voter registration list, warning that failure to produce the records could lead to legal action. 

“Voting by non-citizens is a federal crime, and states and counties that refuse to disclose all requested voter information are in violation of well-established federal election laws,” she said in a lawsuit against the Orange County Registrar of Voters. 

"Removal of noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls is critical to ensuring that the State’s voter rolls are accurate and that elections in California are conducted without fraudulent voting.”

Trump and McCotter are completely within their rights here. Enforcing the law on illegal or noncitizen voting in elections is good. Going after those who helped make their illegal voting possible is even better.

Credit: redstate.com