Eleven days before the midterm election, federal agents came a-knocking in Marin County with a demand sounding like it came straight out of Trump’s voter-fraud playbook. Set aside any ballots cast by 48 local voters and wait around until someone determines whether these folks are American citizens.
In my house, we call that chutzpah.
The fuss began on Oct. 23, when agents from the Department of Homeland Security dropped off a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, accompanied by a list of names and two court declarations from DHS employees. According to the letter, Marin County must bench those ballots, and the DOJ also wants help identifying the 48 people.
Marin County tried a novel approach, one apparently foreign to the feds. First, it reviewed state and federal laws, then took a good hard look at the list provided.
No can do, the county concluded. Going along would likely violate voter privacy laws and that other little thing called the right to vote.
California’s constitution backs up the decision, saying a lawfully registered voter’s ballot gets counted. There’s not much wiggle room and nothing in there on federal paranoia. Just count the vote.
As for the DOJ’s list of 48, the county’s preliminary review found it “at best materially unreliable.” In other words, the list doesn’t count.
“We take the accuracy of the voter roll seriously, but questions about eligibility must be supported by reliable information and handled according to law,” said Registrar of Voters Natalie Adona. “The rights of lawfully registered voters cannot depend on whether an outside list happens to include their names.”
Right now, Adona has an actual election to run. Marin’s Elections Department urges registered voters to cast their ballots early at official drop boxes and vote centers around the county.
For more information on the Nov. 3 election, call 415-473-6456 or email el*******@*********ty.gov. Voting locations and hours are posted at MarinVotes.org/Nov3election.
