DOJ Warns State Election Officials of Jail for Recordkeeping Failures

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent letters to multiple state election offices on October 29, warning officials that failure to comply with federal recordkeeping requirements is a crime. The letters cite a federal statute requiring the preservation of all records related to federal elections, including ballots, pollbooks, and voter registration forms, for 22 months following election day.

McCotter stated that willful failure to comply with these requirements is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. These warnings follow previous Department of Justice communications from Harmeet Dhillon and Eric Neff regarding the prosecution of officials who fail to preserve records during litigation or who allow noncitizens to vote.

Simultaneously, the Department of Justice issued criminal subpoenas to election administrators in California to obtain information on how the state verifies voter citizenship. This action follows a ruling by U.S. District Judge David Carter, who affirmed that California maintains the authority to administer its own citizenship confirmation processes.