Reps Peters, Vargas, Levin, and Jacobs Back San Diego County Registrar of Voters Amid Trump Admin Probe for Voter Data

San Diego, CA - Today, U.S. Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) led members of the San Diego Congressional delegation, Reps. Juan Vargas (CA-52), Mike Levin (CA-49), and Sara Jacobs (CA-51), in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche amid the Department of Justice's (DOJ) attempt to sanction voter rolls across California, including in San Diego County's Registrars of Voters (ROV).

The DOJ demanded that San Diego's ROV provide voter information for over 1,700 voters, including driver's license numbers, Social Security numbers, and voter registration applications, within 48 hours, and withhold their ballots until their citizenship is confirmed. In its response, the County pushed back against several unsubstantiated claims and argued that the DOJ's probe violated several election laws.

The Members' letter reinforced the County's claims and acknowledged that California's registrars follow all state and federal election laws, including citizenship attestation and database verification through the California Secretary of State. They argued that the DOJ's letter cites no legal authority to direct county ballot administration and that it violates the National Voter Registration Act's (NVRA) 90-day quiet period against systematically removing voters from the rolls.

"The information requested by DOJ is intended to confirm the department's unsubstantiated allegations of noncitizen voting in California," the Members noted, also pointing to the data cited by DOJ, which the Agency itself conceded "may be outdated or incomplete."

The Members also stated that unverified fraud allegations do not give registrars authority to violate federal law by refusing to count the votes of people already deemed eligible. They added that the DOJ's demand fails to explain who would determine citizenship status, how, or when, less than a week before Election Day.

"The request from DOJ violates the NVRA, Voting Rights Act, California state law, and jeopardizes Californians' constitutional right to vote," the Members concluded, adding that "as Members of the California Congressional delegation, we commend the work of our state ROVs to ensure state and federal election laws are upheld."

Read the full letter here.

Background: Over the past several weeks, the DOJ has escalated pressure on California before Election Day and made unsubstantiated claims that large numbers of illegal voters are on the rolls. Federal courts have repeatedly intervened and denied the Administration's attempt to interfere.

In May, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined Rep. Peters' podcast, 72 and Sunny, to debunk the myth of widespread voter fraud, discuss how California has pushed back against the attacks from the Trump Administration, and highlight how the State is enhancing voter security for the election. Watch the full episode here.

###