SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Department of Justice has sent Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson a letter warning of criminal prosecution if "any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens" on the voter records list.
In a post on the social media site Threads, Lt. Gov. Henderson called it a "love letter this morning from the DOJ sprinkled throughout with threats of criminal prosecution."
"I’m sure I’m not the only chief election officer of a state who is being targeted for following state and federal laws by resisting DOJ’s demands for private voter data that have thus far been ruled illegal by at least a dozen courts. This is truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights," she wrote on her personal account.
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It is the latest salvo in a legal battle between Lt. Gov. Henderson, who is Utah's chief elections officer, and the DOJ that is suing her seeking access to Utahns' private voter information. The Lt. Governor has so far refused to provide the information, arguing that state and federal law prohibit it.
The League of Women Voters of Utah and the NAACP have intervened in the lawsuit siding with Lt. Gov. Henderson. The League, represented by the ACLU of Utah, has warned the DOJ may be using the information to target people and "creating a national database on all of us who are eligible to vote." The Democratic National Committee has also filed in the case expressing support for Lt. Gov. Henderson, who is a Republican.
In lawsuits filed against other states, courts have rejected the DOJ's demands.
Tuesday's letter, shared with FOX 13 News, did not explicitly address the lawsuit against Lt. Gov. Henderson, but attached a memo entitled "Federal Law Requirements for State and Local Election Officials." The letter, signed by Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said it "outlines various responsibilities for state and local election officials under federal law and the potential criminal penalties for those who fail to carry out their duties."
"Federal law mandates that state and local election officials properly maintain election records and undertake certain actions to ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens cast votes in elections for federal office," he said.
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown was cc'd on the letter.
Reviews of the 2.1 million registered voters by the Lt. Governor's Office found that only 27 noncitizens were on Utah's voter rolls and removed. None had ever cast a ballot.
