DOJ Warns State Election Officials of 1-Year Jail Risk Over Record Preservation
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Oct 30
DOJ Warns State Election Officials of 1-Year Jail Risk Over Record Preservation
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Oct 30
Summary
Letters sent Thursday by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter told election officials in multiple states that failing to preserve ballots, pollbooks and sign-in sheets can bring up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
McCotter cast the notice as a reminder of longstanding federal record-retention rules, but several state officials said the explicit threat of criminal liability marked a break from how past administrations communicated those obligations.
Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas said the legal point may be valid but objected to the letter's tone, underscoring unease among election administrators already under pressure.
The warning comes as the Trump administration has also threatened election workers in California and elsewhere over ballots it says could belong to noncitizen voters, and after the FBI seized more than 600 boxes of Fulton County election records in January.