US government sues California for failing to verify voter registration

Under California law, a ballot is mailed to each registered voter. It is illegal for foreigners to vote in federal elections", highlighted the Department of Justice. This type of election is organized by the states.

"Based on a thorough analysis of electoral records and federal data, Department of Homeland Security agencies identified thousands of alleged non-citizens registered to vote in California," points out the action, consulted by AFP. "The federal government has asked California to work collaboratively (...) The state has made no serious effort."

The lawsuit explains that Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) compared information in its possession about immigrants and naturalized citizens in California with other sources in order to identify possible errors or fraud. The government says it handed state authorities this week a list of more than 20,000 names that it asked to be preventively removed from the voter register.

States opposing Trump's demands have argued that even if they wanted to collaborate, deadlines are tight.

Last month, the United States Supreme Court authorized the government to use a federal database to try to remove names of people who potentially do not have American citizenship from the country's electoral rolls.