US Justice Department charges 28 California residents in alleged election fraud scheme

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Department of Justice on Monday charged 28 foreign nationals living in California with alleged federal election-related crimes, including falsely claiming US citizenship on voter registration forms and in many cases casting ballots in elections.

Federal authorities announced that 11 of the defendants were arrested as part of “Operation Protect the Vote,” a coordinated effort involving all four US Attorney’s Offices in California to investigate suspected election fraud.

According to the Justice Department, all 28 defendants are lawful permanent residents, commonly known as green card holders. Although permanent residents may legally live and work in the US, they are not US citizens and generally are prohibited from voting in federal elections.

The criminal complaints include allegations of making false statements in naturalization applications, with some defendants also charged with fraudulent voter registration. The Justice Department said the offenses carry maximum potential penalties of five years in federal prison.

The charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

“Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said in the statement.

“Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week,” he added.

Last week, the Justice Department, working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), filed a complaint against California for its voter-registration lists, alleging that more than 20,000 people who are likely noncitizens are registered to vote in the state.

Diyar Güldoğan