The WatchlistWatch 13
This is a Watchlist entry. It is a developing story reported by credible outlets that hasn't reached a court ruling, official finding or documented harm yet. It says what to watch for. If that happens, it moves to The Record.
Warning every state's election officials that they could be prosecuted over noncitizen voters
Developing means: Reported by credible outlets, but no ruling, official finding or documented harm yet.
On July 7, 2026, the Justice Department sent letters to the top election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia warning that they could be criminally prosecuted for aiding and abetting noncitizen voting if they knowingly keep noncitizens on the rolls or let them receive or cast ballots, and gave them five days to explain how they would comply.
What happened
The letters were signed by Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the department's Civil Rights Division, and came after courts in several states had thrown out the department's lawsuits demanding unredacted voter rolls (see the entry on suing 30 states). Election officials and experts told Votebeat the letters looked more like political pressure than the start of prosecutions. Colorado's secretary of state called them an attempt to intimidate election officials, Washington's secretary of state said the department was sliding toward threatening election administrators personally, and Maryland's election administrator described his as a letter threatening his arrest. Noncitizen voting is already a federal crime and is rare. On July 24, Dhillon said on Fox News that the department would take a 'broken windows' approach and prosecute every case of illegal voting it finds, after New Jersey's governor said thousands of noncitizens had ended up on the state's rolls through the motor-voter system.
What to watch for
Whether any election official is charged or formally investigated before or after the Nov. 3 election, and whether the department acts against officials who did not answer the letters. If the election passes with no charges, this comes off the list.
The administration's side
A Justice Department spokesperson said the letters ask the states for voluntary compliance, in a timely manner, with their obligations under federal law to ensure that only citizens vote in federal elections. Dhillon says the department will prosecute every illegal vote it finds and that activists and local officials are supplying leads.
Sources
Permanent link: https://unredactedrecord.com/e/w-dojletters/