San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow is pursuing state criminal charges against people on a Department of Justice list of noncitizens who allegedly voted in his jurisdiction, according to reporting that places the local case inside a broader, tense standoff between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and federal officials on the eve of the state’s midterm elections.
The dispute has been building for months. The Justice Department has spent roughly 18 months trying to get noncitizens removed from California’s voter rolls, an effort the state has so far fended off in court. At the same time, the Trump administration this week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out 20,000 California ballots, citing what it describes as widespread illegal voting in the state. As of now, 35 people on the relevant list have already been criminally charged for voting despite not being eligible, with more charges possible.
Dow’s move to seek state charges against people in San Luis Obispo County who appear on that list comes as Newsom has escalated his own public warnings against anyone who assists federal prosecutions of alleged election fraud.
Newsom’s warnings
On October 29, Newsom wrote on social media: “I’m deploying election lawyers to key battleground districts in California to protect every vote. And I just made it a FELONY to illegally seize ballots.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli responded: “You’re going to protect every legal or illegal vote? What about California citizens whose votes are being diluted by ineligible voters. Do their constitutional rights matter.”
On Monday evening, Newsom posted a video statement sharpening the threat: “California is dead serious about the security of tomorrow’s midterm elections. If Trump tries to meddle with California’s ballots, you can be sure as hell that we’ll prosecute those who help him. Californians deserve a free and fair election, and that is exactly what we’ll deliver.”
He followed with a direct warning aimed at anyone cooperating with federal election-fraud investigations: “Let me be clear to anyone thinking about helping Trump interfere with California elections: If you interfere with voters or tamper with ballots, you will be prosecuted with a FELONY. And don’t count on a pardon from the President. He can’t pardon you out of California justice.”
The full remarks
In a longer video transcript, Newsom laid out his case: “So, just hours ago President Trump went to the United States Supreme Court and asked it to throw out 20,000 California ballots from 20,000 voters who followed the rules. His excuse is a lie, that there’s widespread illegal voting in California. He’s been setting this up for months and months so he can call tomorrow’s election stolen if he doesn’t get the result he likes. His Justice Department has even hit local election workers with criminal grand jury subpoenas to intimidate them.”
He continued: “So, let me speak clearly and directly to anyone thinking about helping them. If you interfere with our voters, you will be prosecuted with a felony. If you tamper with our ballots, you will face justice. It doesn’t matter who gave the order. Meddle in California’s election, and California will come for you. And don’t count — don’t count on a pardon. The president can’t pardon you out of California justice. Two months ago, I signed a law giving our state prosecutors new tools to make sure of that.”
Newsom cited the state’s broader response to the dispute: “We passed 13 election protection bills. We sent $40 million to counties to hire staff and count ballots faster. Our election security task force, they’re on watch for misinformation and threats at the polls. And just this past week, we took the administration to court. We took them to court three times, and we won all three. And tomorrow 135 lawyers will be on standby across the state, and more than a thousand volunteers will be watching. And if anyone gets in your way, call 1-877-321-VOTE.”
He added a message to poll workers: “The threats against you are a disgrace, and we have your back. California is ready. Every eligible vote will be counted, so don’t let anyone scare you out of your voice. Get out there and vote.”
The San Luis Obispo case
Dow’s decision to seek state charges against people on the DOJ’s list who voted in San Luis Obispo County sits at the center of the underlying conflict: whether California will treat the DOJ’s identification of allegedly ineligible voters as grounds for prosecution, even as Newsom’s administration argues in federal court that election workers in the state are being intimidated by threats of prosecution from U.S. Attorneys and the Attorney General over their handling of noncitizen voter rolls.
That tension is central to critics’ objections to Newsom’s rhetoric: the governor’s administration has sought federal court orders barring U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorneys in California, including Essayli, from “threatening” prosecution of people who facilitate voting by noncitizens, even as Newsom’s own public statements threaten felony prosecution of anyone who assists federal efforts to identify and prosecute that same conduct.
Both the Supreme Court challenge over the 20,000 ballots and the local prosecutions tied to the DOJ’s noncitizen voter list, including the one now underway in San Luis Obispo County, remain unresolved as California’s midterm elections proceed.
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