Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said on Sunday that state officials are still blocking a federal audit of the state\u2019s voter rolls.<\/p>\n
This is because the office has found several policies that make people worried about how California runs its elections.<\/p>\n
People who want to vote for the first time but don\u2019t have a Social Security number or driver\u2019s license can still register by using other forms of ID, such as gym membership cards, employer ID cards, credit or debit cards, and prescription drug labels.<\/p>\n
The state also lets people use insurance cards, which has gotten more attention because California gives illegal immigrants free health insurance.<\/p>\n
Other policies that were brought up included failing to promptly remove deceased voters from the voter rolls and insufficiently limiting third-party ballot harvesting.<\/p>\n
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X:<\/p>\n
California Is Blocking a Federal Audit of Its Voter Rolls. California allows first-time voters to register using forms of ID that most Americans would find surprising, including:<\/em><\/p>\n -Gym membership card<\/em> \u201cThis is permitted when a voter fails to provide a Social Security number or driver\u2019s license at registration. Our office believes this policy deserves a closer look,\u201d Essayli wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also have serious concerns about how California maintains its voter rolls. There are open questions about whether the state is promptly removing deceased voters, people who have moved, and individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies,\u201d Essayli added.<\/p>\n \u201cOn top of that, California allows third parties to collect and turn in ballots on voters\u2019 behalf (a practice known as ballot harvesting) with few restrictions. This makes it difficult to track who actually received, completed, and submitted each ballot,\u201d Essayli continued.<\/p>\n \u201cFor over a year, the Department of Justice has been trying to audit California\u2019s voter rolls. Federal law gives the Attorney General the authority to review state voter files and confirm that only eligible U.S. citizens are voting in federal elections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201c[Assistant Attorney General Harmet Dhillon] sent California a letter explaining our legal authority. California refused to comply, claiming state privacy laws block the review, an argument that does not hold up because those laws don\u2019t apply to the federal government in this context,\u201d Essayli added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve sued California in federal court, and the case is before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.\u00a0If California genuinely wants voters to trust its elections, it should open its records, not fight to keep them closed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He concluded, \u201cWhat are they afraid of?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n-Employer ID card<\/em>
\n-Credit or debit card<\/em>
\n-Prescription drug label<\/em>
\n-Insurance card (California provides free health coverage to undocumented immigrants)<\/em><\/p>\n