The US Department of Justice has given election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia a five-day deadline to set out how they will maintain "clean voter lists" ahead of upcoming elections, warning that failure to comply could lead to criminal prosecution. The demand, contained in a letter signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, matters because it forms part of a wider push by the Trump administration to tighten voter-security measures before the November midterm elections.

The letter asked officials to detail the steps they are taking to comply with federal, state and local election laws, and reiterated that they could be "criminally prosecuted" for "aiding and abetting" non-citizen voting. A DOJ spokesperson said the letters sought "voluntary compliance" with obligations to ensure only citizens vote in federal elections, while the letter itself warned that an official who knowingly acted to keep non-citizens on a state's voter registration list could face criminal liability.