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July 7, 2026 / 9:35 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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The head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division sent letters to election officials in all 50 states on Tuesday threatening criminal action if they knowingly allow non-U.S. citizens to vote or to remain on their voter rolls, the department confirmed to CBS News.The letters also asked the state officials to explain how they intend to comply with federal law and ensure non-citizens do not cast ballots. Each state was given five days to respond."Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state's [state voter registration list] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote in identical letters sent to officials in Arizona, Michigan and Maine that were reviewed by CBS News. She added that it is also a crime for two or more people to conspire to deprive people of their constitutional rights."We encourage you to contact us to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voter lists as required by law," she wrote.President Trump has claimed for months that people who are not U.S. citizens frequently vote in federal elections, even though instances of noncitizen voting are extremely rare. The president has pushed the Senate to pass a bill called the SAVE America Act that would require Americans to show proof of citizenship in-person to register to vote, threatening not to sign other bills unless Congress took action on the matter. Mr. Trump also signed an executive order earlier this year that would create federal lists of eligible voters and bar the U.S. Postal Service from mailing ballots to anybody who isn't listed, though that measure was blocked by a federal judge.
