California Accused of Blocking Federal Voter Audit and Paying Homeless to Register

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced that California is refusing a Justice Department request to provide its statewide voter‑registration lists for a federal audit, invoking state privacy laws as a shield. The Department of Justice has sued California, along with several other states, for non‑compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act, arguing that clean voter rolls are essential to free and fair elections.

Essayli highlighted that California permits first‑time voters to register with unconventional identification such as gym membership cards, employer ID cards, credit or debit cards, prescription‑drug labels and insurance cards. Critics say the relaxed standards could enable fraud. Simultaneously, undercover investigations reported that operatives on Los Angeles’s Skid Row were offering cash, cigarettes and drugs to homeless individuals in exchange for voter registration, prompting further concerns about the legitimacy of the rolls.

The dispute is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, while California officials defend the policies as broad interpretations of federal identity‑proof requirements. The controversy has resurfaced during the Los Angeles mayoral race, where the handling of ballot drops has become a point of contention.