Monterey County is refusing to hand over Social Security numbers, driver's licenses and voter registration records for 310 people the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) flagged as possible non-citizens.

The standoff comes two days before the Nov. 3 election.

U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian signed the demand letter, which DOJ agents hand-delivered to the Monterey County Registrar of Voters on Oct. 23, Monterey County NOW reported. The letter gave the registrar 48 hours to work with the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine who on the list was a citizen and who was not.

Missakian also demanded that Registrar of Voters Gina Martinez separate mail-in ballots from anyone whose citizenship could not be confirmed and hold those ballots uncounted until it could be. He warned of criminal consequences against Martinez if she aided a federal crime, according to Monterey County NOW.

County calls data 'unsubstantiated'

County Counsel Susan Blitch responded in an Oct. 27 letter. Blitch called the DOJ's threats of criminal consequences an unlawful intimidation of election officials and California voters, according to the report. She wrote that the 310 names were unsubstantiated and based on unreliable third-party data, and that the county legally could not comply.

County spokesperson Nick Pasculli provided a breakdown of the list. Of the 310 names, 142 were active voters compliant with the law. Of those, 17 were first-time voters already undergoing verification before their votes could be counted. The remaining 168 were not registered to vote in the county at all, Pasculli said.

County leadership described the demand in a joint statement as a direct assault on the integrity of local elections and an attempt to undermine the work of the elections department.

Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo wrote on X that the Board of Supervisors condemned the DOJ's efforts to intimidate voters and election officials through what he described as flawed data.

Statewide push

The Monterey County letter is one of many. Missakian's demand is part of a wave of similar letters sent to every county in California, each with a county-specific breakdown drawn from a list of 20,000 names the DOJ sent to the California Secretary of State on Oct. 13, according to Monterey County NOW.

The DOJ also announced Oct. 19 that it had charged 28 green card holders in California with allegedly registering to vote fraudulently, the outlet reported.

Monterey County NOW reported that the DOJ's Northern District of California did not respond to a request for comment.

Martinez said in a written statement that the elections department would continue following federal and state law. "We are fully focused on conducting a free, fair and secure election, and we will protect every single legal vote in Monterey County," she said.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.