ACLJ Exposes NEW California Election Scandal

Our legal team filed a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request to demand answers about election integrity issues in California. As a result, we’ve discovered that Governor Gavin Newsom’s state does not keep records of any noncitizens who have been removed from voter rolls.

The California Secretary of State just responded to our open-records request about their voter registry, refusing to provide any records responsive to our request. In fact, their response claims they do not have or keep records of any actions to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls; in addition, they will not provide any records of any enforcement actions.

Federal law requires each state to keep records and have them available to the public of how they maintain the integrity of their voter rolls. But California just admitted to us that they do not keep records related to noncitizens being removed from the voter rolls.

Recently we told you that New Jersey discovered that a number of noncitizens were somehow accidentally added to the voter rolls, and some of them actually voted. Well, the ACLJ has been digging into states with questionable recordkeeping when it comes to their voter rolls.

A CPRA is essentially the state equivalent of a FOIA, and we sent that to two entities in California – the Secretary of State’s office, as well as the Attorney General’s office of California. We said we want records showing the number of voter registration records canceled because the registrant didn’t satisfy the citizenship requirements for voter registration. We also said we don’t want personal information, just a number.

The Attorney General’s office responded, asking for an extension to comply with the request until August 10, and that was granted. We understand we’re asking for a lot of records, and they will need a little bit of time.

The Secretary of State’s office, though, has replied, and this is where it really starts to get interesting. We asked for four things specifically, but one of them was for records showing the number of voter registration records canceled because the registrant didn’t satisfy the citizenship requirements for voter registration.

Their answer, put simply, was no.

According to the Secretary of State’s official response:

The Statewide Voter Registration System does not contain a voter status reason for cancellation due to non-citizenship, therefore there are no records responsive to this request.

Essentially, they admitted that they don’t keep records of removing someone from their rolls for being a noncitizen. They do keep records if there is a removal for death or for moving, but not if someone is removed because they’re a noncitizen.

The response goes on to state:

Please note that in addition to our federal law obligations, California has robust state law and regulatory safeguards in place to ensure that only U.S. citizens register to vote and that any noneligible registrants are removed from the State’s voter rolls, in accordance with the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

For example, California law unambiguously provides that a person “shall not be registered” unless they are “a United States citizen.” (California Elections Code sections 2100, 2101.) Voters register to vote through affidavits of registration when they must attest, under penalty of perjury and by signature, that they satisfy all eligibility requirements, including citizenship.

They even cited the California Elections Code, stating that when voters register, “they must attest, under penalty of perjury and by signature, that they satisfy all eligibility requirements, including citizenship.”

Here’s the concern – on one hand, they’re saying, if someone did this, they’d be under penalty of perjury. But at the same time, they’re saying we don’t really track it. This is why the work of the ACLJ is so critical: to expose these unfathomable loopholes that could drastically influence our elections.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more analysis of the shocking response from the California Secretary of State to our CPRA request about noncitizens being scrubbed from their voter rolls without a trace. We were also joined by Special Envoy Ric Grenell to discuss President Trump’s newly announced disarmament agreement with Hamas, as well as his personal response to our CPRA as a Californian.

Watch the full broadcast below: