DOJ Arrests 28 in Alleged Voter Fraud in CA

The Justice Department on Monday said it had arrested 28 people in California as part of an investigation into lawfully permanent residents, or green card holders, it says were illegally attempting to vote in the midterms.

The Details: The arrests are part of "Operation Protect the Vote." According to federal prosecutors, the 28 defendants are charged with making false statements in naturalization applications and falsely claiming to be US citizens on voter registration applications. Prosecutors also say the applications were approved and that many of those accused had voted in US elections. If found guilty, the defendants could face up to five years in prison.

For Context: Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the 28 arrested were part of a list of more than 20,000 people who were likely noncitizen voter registrants. Lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders, are authorized to live and work in the US, but are generally not eligible to vote in federal elections. According to the DOJ, on Oct. 13, federal officials gave California a list of individuals whose citizenship status they wanted to verify before their mail-in ballots were counted.

'Biggest Voter Fraud Bust in CA History': New York Post (Right bias) published a breakdown of the arrests and included photos. It described how the different arrests happened and also mentioned previous voting attempts by some of those arrested, including one Belizean national, who it said voted in the 2020, 2022 and 2024 election, a man from the Philippines who it said voted in 2024 and a man from Myanmar who it said voted in 2024. The Post also said the man had previous convictions of grand theft and narcotics possession in the US. Fox News (Right) shared a clip from McCotter who recollected elections that were decided within a small margin of votes, emphasizing the importance of cracking down on voter fraud.

On Trump's Immigration Policy: The Associated Press (Lean Left) said the arrests are part of the Trump administration's efforts to root out noncitizen voting, "even though data shows that the problem is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races." It described federal officials placing the blame of voter fraud from these individuals on California officials. Mother Jones (Left) said the operation makes good on "threats to weaponize the Justice Department and other federal entities." The Hill (Center) said Trumps' immigration crackdown has received "much backlash" and that federal immigration authorities have been involved in multiple violent incidents.

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