Utah asks DOJ not to interfere with state elections after it threatened Lt. Gov. Henderson

SALT LAKE CITY — Top Utah officials asked the U.S. Department of Justice not to interfere with state elections after the agency threatened Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson with prosecution over election administration last week.

Citing an ongoing lawsuit by the Department of Justice seeking access to private information on Utah voters, the state’s director of elections asked the department to address the state’s attorneys in future communications and keep a hands-off approach to state elections in a brief response letter sent Tuesday.

“The state of Utah complies with both state and federal election law,” Ryan Cowley wrote. “The federal government can best assist the state of Utah by allowing us to perform our required duties without unjustified interference, as intended by Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.”

Cowley responded on behalf of the state and Henderson, who was one of at least 11 state election officials who received threatening letters from the Justice Department on July 7 and who has resisted efforts by President Donald Trump’s department to obtain sensitive information about Utah voters.

That letter, signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, was focused on laws preventing noncitizens from voting in federal elections and suggested election officials could face criminal charges for “knowingly retaining noncitizens” on voter rolls.

“In conclusion, any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s (voter list) or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability,” the letter reads.

The letter also asked Henderson to respond within five days explaining how Utah plans to comply with federal laws and how the department can help.

Henderson called the effort “truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights.”

Dhillon, who leads the department’s Civil Rights Division, has sued multiple states, including Utah, seeking to obtain complete access to voting rolls. Henderson has fought back against the department, saying that “neither state nor federal law entitles the Department of Justice to collect private information on law-abiding citizens.”

She has said the lawsuit would “upset” the balance that gives states authority to run their own elections.

The Justice Department has sought voter information as Trump has complained about noncitizen voting, something that is illegal under federal law and not widespread.

A recent audit conducted by Henderson’s office found a “small handful” of noncitizens among the state’s more than 2 million voters, and a new state law requires that Utahns show proof of citizenship in order to vote in state and local elections.

Multiple lawsuits by the Department of Justice against other states have been dismissed.

“After 14 straight losses and zero wins, it’s time for the DOJ to voluntarily dismiss the rest of their frivolous lawsuits against states,” Henderson wrote on social media Tuesday.