Harmeet Dhillon claims ‘no interruption’ to vote counting ahead. It’s already happening in California 

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon downplayed the Department of Justice’s crusade against noncitizen voting, calling public fear “paranoia.” Her department, the same week, threatened to disenfranchise 20,000 people in California it flagged as potential noncitizens.

In a 60 Minutes interview Sunday, Dhillon told CBS’ Lesley Stahl the DOJ is still hunting for “literally thousands” of noncitizen voters, despite admitting they can not legally vote. Meanwhile, the DOJ threatened and then sued California to force the state to stop counting ballots for those flagged as potential noncitizens.

Stahl questioned Dhillon’s reasoning, correctly pointing out that very few noncitizens ever vote in elections and suggesting the DOJ’s escalation toward those individuals is fearmongering.

“The point is actually the opposite of what you were saying. It’s not to sow distrust. The distrust is there,” Dhillon responded. “And so all of these kinds of crimes are being prosecuted now for the first time really in volume.”

Dhillon is right that Americans distrust their democracy, but polling suggests President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has shifted the views of both those who support tighter voting restrictions and those who fear their voting rights are under threat.

“So would you consider a noncitizen voting an irregularity that would lead to a challenge of a vote?” Stahl asked.

“I think that would lead to the person’s vote being challenged, but not the entire election,” Dhillon said. 

However, that’s exactly what pro-voting groups, joining a lawsuit to defend California, claim is happening. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told a group of supporters Saturday that Trump is “going after truth and trust on vote by mail” in the universal mail voting state.

“Can you rule it out?” Stahl asked of challenging an entire state’s vote count.

Dhillon could not, instead indicating she cannot predict the future but said there “should be no interruption in the usual course of counting and certifying results in the states” unless unexpected circumstances arise.

And when asked about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at polling places, Dhillon parroted the Trump administration’s boilerplate language that there is “no plan” to send ICE to polls. ICE has been seen near voting sites in California, voting rights groups cite.