Illinois ‘reviewing’ DOJ’s threat to prosecute state election officials
over noncitizen voting
[July 09, 2026]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois State Board of Elections said Wednesday it is
“reviewing” a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice threatening
criminal prosecution of any official who allows noncitizens to cast
ballots and requesting information about how the state intends to
prevent noncitizens voting.
The letter, dated Tuesday, July 7, was addressed to ISBE Executive
Director Bernadette Matthews. It was similar to letters reportedly sent
to top election officials in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
It also appeared to be part of a multi-pronged effort by the Trump
administration to crack down on illegal voting by noncitizens, something
election experts say is exceedingly rare.
In addition to Tuesday’s letter threatening prosecution, DOJ is also
suing Illinois and dozens of other states for access to the state’s
complete, unredacted voter registration list, including sensitive
information such as voters’ dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and
partial Social Security numbers. The federal government has not been
successful in any of those lawsuits thus far.
The Trump administration is also proposing new regulations that would
prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from transmitting mail-in or absentee
ballots to or from voters who are not included on a federally approved
list of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote, though a federal judge
has blocked that effort.
Tuesday’s letter, DOJ’s demands
The three-page letter sent Tuesday was signed by Harmeet Dhillon, who
heads DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. It cites several federal statutes
that make it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal, state or local
elections, or to falsely represent themselves as citizens.
It concludes with a warning that “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 ad casting ballots could be subject to criminal
liability.”
“The Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, would like to assist
your state in complying with these federal laws,” the letter states.
“Please respond to this letter within five days informing us of how the
state of Illinois intends to ensure it is complying with these federal
laws at both the state and local level and how the Department can assist
in those efforts.”
President Donald Trump has long claimed, without evidence, that voting
fraud — including fraudulent mail ballots and illegal votes by
noncitizens — cost him the 2020 election. He has continued to make
unfounded claims about noncitizen voting since winning back the
presidency in 2024.
In August 2025, DOJ demanded Illinois election officials hand over the
state’s complete, unredacted voter registration database, saying it
needed that information to determine whether Illinois was complying with
federal laws requiring states to maintain accurate, up-to-date voter
rolls.
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A polling place in Springfield during the March 2026 primary
election. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
After Illinois refused to comply, citing state and federal privacy laws,
DOJ sued the state in federal court in Springfield. It has also sued
dozens of other states for refusing similar demands. So far, every court
that has issued a decision in those cases has ruled against DOJ, but the
Illinois case remains pending before Judge Colleen Lawless.
Several labor and civil rights organizations have intervened in the
Illinois case supporting the state’s refusal to hand over the
information and urging the court to dismiss the suit.
Attorneys for those groups have argued that DOJ’s stated reason for
seeking the data — to enforce voter list maintenance requirements — is
just a pretext. They say the real reason it wants the information is to
develop a national registry of eligible voters, something they argue is
beyond the federal government’s constitutional authority.
Federal voting list
In a March 31 executive order, Trump directed the Department of Homeland
Security to compile such lists for each state and transmit them to each
state’s chief election official. Those lists are to include the names of
state residents who are U.S. citizens and will be 18 years of age or
older at the time of the 2026 election.
The order also directed the U.S. Postal Service to initiate new
administrative rules to prohibit transmitting mail-in or absentee
ballots from any individual who is not listed on the federal list of
eligible voters.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 22 other
states and Washington, D.C., in filing a federal lawsuit challenging
that order. And on June 25, a federal judge in Massachusetts struck down
the major provisions of that order as unconstitutional beyond the
authority of federal agencies.
DOJ has since filed notice that it intends to appeal that ruling. And in
the meantime, USPS has not withdrawn its proposed rules concerning
mail-in ballots.
On Thursday, July 2, the deadline for submitting public comment on those
proposed rules, Gov. JB Pritzker joined a coalition of eight other
Democratic governors in submitting written comments opposing the rule.
Raoul was also part of a coalition of 24 state attorneys general
opposing the rule.
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