!!!!!strong>The Trump administration is at it again, folks, and I’m sipping my coffee, wondering what they’re thinking. They’ve filed a lawsuit against California over unvetted non-citizen voter claims, and let me tell you, it’s a doozy. The lawsuit, which legal experts are calling a “long shot” and “a press release masquerading as litigation,” seeks to block state election officials from counting the ballots of some 20,000 people the administration believes could be non-citizens. I mean, come on, 20,000 people? That’s a lot of alleged non-citizens.!!
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles and claims that the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause gives the federal government the ability to challenge how California has allegedly stood in the way of the Trump administration’s ability to enforce the federal ban on non-citizens. But, as Notre Dame Law School Professor Derek Muller points out, there is no federal law dictating how states should go about verifying the citizenship status of voters on their rolls. So, it seems like the Trump administration is trying to make something out of nothing.
The Justice Department claims that California knows that non-citizens might be registered to vote and knows the names of such individuals, but still intends to count their votes without verifying the voter’s citizenship. However, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said that the information the administration has handed over “lacks both the detail and function to be of any investigative use.” She also stated that her office “will welcome” the chance to review evidence of ineligible voters and take action “in compliance with federal and state law.”
I have to say, I’m a bit amused by the whole situation. The Trump administration is trying to make a big deal out of something that might not even be a problem. And, as University of California-Los Angeles law professor Rick Hasen points out, the federal complaint filed by the DOJ is “full of language about the supremacy clause and federal ‘preemption,'” but federal law does not preempt the state’s right to run its election and judge the qualifications of its voters.
The lawsuit also gives some insight into how the Trump administration has been coming up with its claims that tens of thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote. Apparently, offices within the Department of Homeland Security and the US Customs and Immigration Services have been comparing publicly accessible voter rolls with the agency’s internal immigration records. However, as we’ve seen in other states, the claims have shrunk significantly after further scrutiny.
For instance, in Nevada, DHS claimed that it found 15,903 non-citizens on its voter rolls, but a month later, clarified that only 6,218 were high-confidence matches. And, after a “rigorous manual review process,” the administration provided the state with a subset of 185 alleged non-citizens, but Nevada claims that all 185 of those people appeared to be citizens, according to its records.
So, it seems like the Trump administration is trying to create a problem where none exists. And, as Justin Levitt, a Loyola Marymount University law professor, points out, this lawsuit is “as guaranteed a loss as anything the DOJ has filed yet.”
In conclusion, the Trump administration’s lawsuit against California is a long shot, and it’s likely to fail. The administration is trying to make a big deal out of something that might not even be a problem, and it’s using questionable methods to come up with its claims. As I finish my coffee, I have to say, it’s been an entertaining morning, but I’m not holding my breath for this lawsuit to succeed. And, who knows, maybe the Trump administration will finally learn that you can’t just make up facts and expect to win in court.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
⚖️ ENTER THE LEGALIZER
Think the government has no idea what it's doing? Put your case before the Federal Case Terminal and find out.
