California Attorney General Rob Bonta castigated the Trump administration for threatening local election officials, telling MS NOW’s Jacob Soboroff that the federal government is “trying to bully and frighten and intimidate” public servants ahead of the midterm elections.

Late last week, the Justice Department warned Los Angeles County officials that they could face prosecution if they process or tabulate a ballot from someone the federal government suspects is a noncitizen, according to a letter obtained by MS NOW.

The warning came after the administration sued California, seeking to block the state from counting mail ballots from people it has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their citizenship can be verified. The lawsuit alleges that more than 20,000 people who may be noncitizens are registered to vote in California.

Bonta said the officials targeted by the administration are public servants working to count votes accurately and protect Californians’ right to vote.

“Here you have the federal government, with bluster and intimidation and bullying, trying to scare them into disenfranchising voters, and it’s wrong,” he said Sunday.

The attorney general called the administration’s claims about widespread voter fraud baseless, saying audits, recounts and court cases have found no evidence of it. While ineligible voting should be prosecuted, he said, the administration is using isolated cases to attack states and disenfranchise voters.

“There are one-offs, at times, when some human beings try to or have violated the election laws, like a Republican in Orange County who tried to register her dog,” he said. “And should that person get prosecuted? Yes, they should, and we do not think any ineligible voter should vote. But what is happening here is the Trump administration is attacking states, usually blue states or swing states, that they want to pick a fight with.”

Bonta said the attacks on California are part of a wider effort by the administration to sow doubt about the country’s elections before the midterms.

“They’re desperate. It’s embarrassing for them. They’re in the death throes of this election cycle, staring down a blue wave where they’re going to get thrashed, and they are planning for what they do after they get thrashed,” he told MS NOW. “This is their contingency plan.”

Bonta said California would stand firm in its “commitment to accurate, fair, reliable, secure elections” and keep fighting the administration.

“We will meet the federal government in court,” he said.

You can watch Bonta’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.

The post ‘They’re desperate’: California AG Bonta blasts DOJ threat to election officials appeared first on MS NOW.

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From MS Now.