A DOJ official threatens fines and prison time for those who do not comply.
President Donald Trump’s henchmen at the Justice Department issued an ominous threat against local election officials just days before the midterm elections.
Several state election offices received identical letters from Acting Assistant Attorney General Trent McCotter dated Oct. 29, threatening them with jail time or fines if they fail to fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the election, a Votebeat report found.
The letters would center on a federal law requiring local election officials to retain and preserve all records related to a federal election for 22 months after Election Day.
The letters from a senior Justice Department official were dated Oct. 29, according to copies obtained by Votebeat.
“Election Day is fast approaching, and I write to ensure that your office protects the integrity of your state’s elections and follows federal recordkeeping requirements,” McCotter began, before citing examples of “exceptionally close races” in recent U.S. history.
“To protect the right to vote and maintain public confidence in our democratic process, Congress requires election officials to maintain election records,” he said. “I am writing to remind you of this obligation.”
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McCotter reminded local election officials of a federal law requiring the preservation of all election records such as completed voter registration forms, poll books and precinct registration sheets, as well as the ballot itself.
The letters were signed by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter.
“It is a crime to willfully disregard Section 20701,” the DOJ official said. “Such failure is punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of $1,000. It is also illegal to steal, destroy, conceal, mutilate or willfully alter such records under Section 20702.”
He concluded: “Thank you for your commitment to ensuring election integrity. »
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The letters are the latest in a series of warnings the DOJ has sent to local election officials.
In July, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, reminded officials that they would be prosecuted if they knowingly allowed noncitizens to vote. In September, Eric Neff, another official in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said failure to preserve records in ongoing litigation was subject to civil or criminal penalties.
The October letters were sent just days after a federal judge in California gave the Trump administration a sharp warning about its correspondence with local election officials.
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