DHS Voter Inquiry Suits Touch Pennsylvania as Federal Judges Weigh Limits

A federal judge in California on Oct. 22 blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from conducting election-related field operations in nine states, including Pennsylvania, until polls close. The preliminary injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, responded to voting rights advocates who reported armed agents questioning residents at their homes about voter status. The order covers California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.

On Oct. 28, two civil rights organizations filed a separate lawsuit in California. OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates and Common Cause, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, allege that Homeland Security and its sub-agency U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services created a rushed process that treats naturalized and derivative citizens as potential criminals and seeks to disenfranchise them. The complaint describes a policy the agencies call an Unlawful Voter Initiative aimed at investigating thousands of naturalized and derivative citizens for voter eligibility. The allegations draw on a September report from U.S. Senate Democrats stating that DHS investigates naturalized citizens without their knowledge. The plaintiffs ask a federal judge to bar Homeland Security from targeting naturalized citizens and from directing state or local election officials to reject ballots based on inclusion in any DHS list of alleged noncitizen voters.

The Department of Justice has sued California to prevent election officials from counting ballots from 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters, and has demanded that Washington state exclude ballots from 400 suspected noncitizens. Homeland Security compiled both lists. Election officials in California and voting rights advocates have questioned the reliability and accuracy of the lists. At a hearing Tuesday, the federal judge in the California case signaled he would likely appoint a special master to examine the list but was leaning against ordering election officials to set aside ballots. Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a Wednesday news release that the administration will not allow illegal aliens to steal the votes of hardworking American citizens, adding that American elections are for Americans only. John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said in a statement that naturalized citizens are U.S. citizens with exactly the same right to vote as anyone born here. Omar Nourledin, senior vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, told reporters the concern is one the group has heard from members across the country and that it is well-founded given what he called junk data used by the Department of Justice to compile these lists.

Homeland Security on Tuesday asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause the injunction and requested a ruling by Thursday. Gabriel Schonfeld, a Department of Justice lawyer, wrote in a court filing that the preliminary injunction will continue to interfere with ongoing federal law enforcement operations relevant to the security and integrity of the midterm elections. The appeals court ordered all court papers in the case filed by Wednesday.

Roughly 10% of Americans eligible to vote this year are naturalized citizens, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census data, up from about 6.2% in 2000. California has the largest share, with naturalized citizens comprising nearly 22% of eligible voters. Florida, New Jersey and New York follow, ranging from 17% to 20%.