Legal resident charged in federal voter fraud sweep says he never voted
Jose Antonio Bañuelos-Díaz, 42, says he didn't know he was registered. The Justice Department wants California to set aside 25,000 ballots.
By Hans Laetz
As we reported Wednesday, 28 people in California have been alleged by the US Department of Justice to have engaged in criminal voter fraud, and now we're finding out details.
One man, a 42-year-old named Jose Antonio Bañuelos-Díaz, has spent his entire life here as a legal resident alien with papers. When he got his driver's license 19 years ago, he apparently got registered as a motor voter. He's never cast a ballot, and he told the Associated Press he had no idea he was even registered to vote until the feds arrested him.
He's charged with illegally voting and, worse, with lying on his citizenship forms when he said he was not a voter. Lying on a citizenship form is enough to get you deported. Bañuelos-Díaz is a taxpayer who has spent his entire life here with a green card, a job, and a family.
The US Department of Justice has sued California for not setting aside the ballots of 25,000 people like this who are suspected of being non-citizens casting ballots. Bill Essayli is the prosecutor for Southern California.
"I just want to be very clear about what we're asking for. We're not asking to cancel anyone's vote. We're not asking to do anything. We've provided a list of non-citizens who we believe are non-citizens to the state of California, and we ask that their ballots be separated from the other ballots so that way we can go through the court process. They've refused."
We should point out that Essayli is acting as a Los Angeles-area US Attorney even though the United States Senate has twice refused to confirm him. A federal judge will hear the Justice Department's lawsuit against California Tuesday. Attorney General Rob Bonta said Wednesday that he's won before and he expects to win now.
"With Donald Trump fueling the attack on the Capitol of January 6th, trying to undermine the rightful and lawful certification of Joe Biden as president, with Donald Trump issuing two separate executive orders that we have gone to court and struck down because they unlawfully undermine the fundamental right to vote of California voters and others — that is who is bringing this case. So forgive us for our skepticism. Forgive us for relying on data and facts and the law and moving to dismiss this case because it has no merit."
Federal court judge David Carter will decide next week whether the Trump administration's order to California is valid. He is expected to rule against the Trump administration.