The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page for allegedly not providing records related to non-citizen voters’ removal from voter registration lists.
The Justice Department alleged that Page refused to provide records related to the removal of non-citizens from the county’s voter registration lists and did not maintain an accurate voter list in violation of the Help America Vote Act, a 2002 law that made sweeping reforms to the country’s voting process.
The lawsuit alleged that Orange County has “undermined” voters’ confidence in the elections process by “refusing transparency of its voter information, in violation of federal voting laws, and concealing the unlawful registration of ineligible, non-citizen voters.”
“Keeping voter registration rolls accurate and current ensures efficient and secure elections and promotes democratic engagement,” the lawsuit said. “Accurate voter registration lists are necessary to ensure only eligible electors can cast a ballot.”
Page could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.
The lawsuit said the Justice Department received a complaint from a family member of a non-citizen in Orange County who had allegedly received an unsolicited mail ballot from the county registrar, despite their citizenship status.
It said the attorney general requested on June 2 documents from January 2020 that show the number of voter registration records in Orange County that have been canceled because the registrant did not meet citizenship requirements and more information about each cancelation, including copies of the application, voting history and related correspondence sent or received by the county registrar related to the registration.
The lawsuit said Page responded to the request but redacted certain information regarding non-citizens identified on the county’s voter registration list, including their driver’s license or state ID numbers, social security numbers, language preferences, and signature images.
The lawsuit is led by Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general and former vice chair of the California Republican Party; Michael Gates, a deputy assistant attorney general and former city attorney of Huntington Beach; and Bill Essayli, a U.S. attorney and former Inland state legislator, among others.
“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 elections laws,” Dhillon, who works in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.