Bonta Sues Over 48-Hour Deadline for 20,000 Ballot Checks

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit on Saturday to block a federal order requiring the state to verify the citizenship status of approximately 20,000 ballots within 48 hours. The demand, issued by the Department of Justice, arrived less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

Bonta accused the Trump administration of acting at the direction of President Donald Trump. He described the move as an effort to 'politicize and weaponize the law' against political enemies. The attorney general stated that the Department of Justice was engaging in improper conduct to attack its opposition.

State election personnel warned that the rapid timeline could cause eligible citizens to lose their right to vote. Officials in Los Angeles reported that a high percentage of the individuals on the federal list were born in the United States. Some state officials initially ignored the letters sent on Friday, citing the proximity of the election date, which triggered the current legal dispute.

The Department of Justice framed the request as a measure to secure the integrity of the vote. Federal prosecutors asked county election officials to provide information allowing the Department of Homeland Security to quickly verify citizenship status. The department claimed this cooperation would ensure the most secure election in California history, a stance aligned with a wider Republican push to crackdown on alleged voter fraud among undocumented immigrants.

Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the federal effort on social media, calling it an 'Absolute clown show.' He argued that the department was desperate to invent widespread voter fraud by sending counties lists of people who never voted or voters from the wrong county. Congressman Pete Aguilar, representing south-west San Bernardino county, agreed that voter intimidation has no place in the democracy.

Bonta has questioned the evidence behind the federal list, noting that officials received only names without an explanation of ineligibility. He said the state would be happy to review any supporting information, but the federal government had provided none. The legal challenge is now before an appeals court, which is scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday.

The department recently charged 28 foreign nationals with fraudulently registering to vote. Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, said the arrests proved California was mailing ballots to noncitizens who were refusing to comply with federal law. The defendants are lawful permanent residents who hold legal status in the US but are not citizens eligible to vote.