Federal prosecutor urges California to use database for voter citizenship checks

Los Angeles federal prosecutor Bill Essayli is calling on California officials to use a federal citizenship database to verify voter eligibility, the New York Post reported. The demand follows an appeals court decision that rejected an effort by the administration of President Donald Trump to set aside approximately 20,000 ballots linked to suspected noncitizens. Essayli emphasized that noncitizens are prohibited from voting under state and federal law. [1]

In a post on X cited by the New York Post, Essayli questioned why California cannot use the same federal database that it currently relies on to verify the citizenship status of Medi-Cal applicants. He stated that checking the voter rolls using this system would help restore public confidence in election results. [1]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, federal prosecutors had previously given California election officials 48 hours to verify a list of about 20,000 ballots. State leaders rejected the directive, and election personnel warned that the move could disenfranchise legitimate voters. Officials in Los Angeles noted that a high percentage of individuals on the federal list were native-born United States citizens. [3]

As FTMQ News also reported earlier, Essayli has previously stated that Los Angeles election officials rely solely on self-attestation to verify voter citizenship and warned that current safeguard gaps dilute the votes of eligible citizens. A federal judge had earlier ruled that the Justice Department cannot force states to hand over voter rolls for citizenship checks. [2]