WASHINGTON, D.C. — The head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division sent letters to election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday. The letters threatened criminal action if election officials knowingly allowed non-U.S. citizens to vote or remain on voter rolls.

Each communication asked state officials to explain their plans for complying with federal law to prevent non-citizens from casting ballots and mandated a response within five days. Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General, stated, "Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state's [state voter registration list] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability." Dhillon added, "We encourage you to contact us to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voter lists as required by law." A Justice Department spokesperson stated, "The Department sent these letters to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, asking for voluntary compliance in a timely manner with their obligations under federal law to ensure only citizens vote in federal elections."

Adrian Fontes, Arizona Secretary of State, addressed the letters. "The suggestion that Arizona election officials are failing to do their jobs is simply not supported by the facts," Fontes said. He added, "Arizona election officials have always worked to ensure that only eligible citizens are registered to vote, and we will continue following Arizona law—not directions that come from political rhetoric or intimidation."

President Trump has claimed for months that people who are not U.S. citizens frequently vote in federal elections. He pushed the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require Americans to show proof of citizenship in-person to register to vote, and threatened not to sign other bills unless Congress took action on the measure. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order to create federal lists of eligible voters and bar the U.S. Postal Service from mailing ballots to anybody who isn't listed; a federal judge subsequently blocked that order.

The Justice Department is litigating against dozens of states to obtain unredacted voter rolls. The Civil Rights Division stated it intends to share voter roll data with the Department of Homeland Security to screen for non-citizen voters. The department has lost 11 district court cases in these efforts. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling siding with Michigan regarding voter rolls.