Federal authorities on Tuesday threatened Washington State election officials with criminal prosecution if they fail to prevent illegal immigrants from voting in this year’s federal elections. In a seven-page letter, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon warned the election officers that they could be held criminally liable if they knowingly retain illegal immigrants on the state’s voter rolls or facilitate illegal immigrants in receiving and casting ballots.
Background
Dhillon sent similar letters to several states, giving Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and election officials elsewhere five days to respond with how each is complying with a slew of long-standing federal laws that prohibit illegal immigrants from voting in elections. Hobbs said his office is reviewing Dhillon’s request to determine its legality, but added that the Department of Justice is accelerating down a slippery slope of threatening personal legal action against election administrators.
The letter sets up the latest standoff between the Trump administration and Washington election officials. Trump has long railed against illegal immigrant voting without evidence and sought state voter rolls to stave off electoral fraud, which is almost non-existent, this despite election oversight being the purview of states and Congress.
Original reporting: Clark County Today (Vancouver WA) — read the source article.
