This article was republished with permission from 小萝莉影视’s news partners at . Read the story at Maryland Matters.
Maryland鈥檚 top election official is being threatened with criminal charges by the Justice Department, the latest effort by President Donald Trump and his administration to pressure state elections officials and cast doubt on the validity of this fall鈥檚 elections, say some election advocates.
The Tuesday letter to state Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis is part of a larger effort involving election officials across the country. It comes a day after Justice Department attorneys signaled their intent to appeal a Maryland case in which they unsuccessfully sought to force the release of comprehensive voter records.
DeMarinis described it as 鈥渁 nice love letter from the Department of Justice threatening my arrest.鈥�
鈥淚t is just unconscionable to threaten and try to intimidate election officials, not just in Maryland, but throughout the United States,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 mean, this is such a draconian step.鈥�
聽from Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division, focuses on 鈥淢aryland鈥檚 compliance with federal law governing voter eligibility.鈥�
In her letter, Dhillon raises concerns about noncitizens being allowed to vote in Maryland elections.
The seven-page letter, which includes a memo, threatens charges related to criminal conspiracy and civil rights violations. It is similar if not identical to one sent to election officials in every state.
鈥淭his letter here is for one purpose, and one purpose only, and that is to intimidate and scare election officials,鈥� DeMarinis said. 鈥淭he Department of Justice is trying to run roughshod over Marylanders鈥� rights. They lost in court to get the voter rolls. The administration has issued unconstitutional executive orders. Now here on July 7 there is this new letter with a memo 鈥� I would say threat 鈥� there鈥檚 no other way to take this.鈥�
DeMarinis acknowledged that speaking publicly about the letter was unusual, but that he felt he had to 鈥渃ome out and address this publicly 鈥� because this cannot stand behind the scenes.鈥�
鈥淎s a state election administrator one of my charges is to make sure that people always feel safe, secure about out elections and know that our elections are verified as well,鈥� he said.
Dhillon wrote that 鈥渁ny election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state鈥檚 SVRL [state voter registration list] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability. An intentional act that is aimed at diluting the votes of citizens could also constitute a violation of (federal law) which makes it unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure any person in the exercise of that person鈥檚 constitutional rights. We encourage you to contact us to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voter lists as required by law.鈥�
The letter, addressed to DeMarinis, does not specify others it considers part of an alleged conspiracy.
鈥淭he Department sent these letters to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, asking for voluntary compliance in a timely manner with their obligations under federal law to ensure only citizens vote in federal elections,鈥� a department spokesperson said in a one-sentence statement sent in response to questions Wednesday.
鈥淲e run safe and secure elections in the state of Maryland in compliance with the law,鈥� DeMarinis said. 鈥淣ow this type of a letter is trying to cast doubt over the election results with baseless claims and mythical evildoers. We鈥檝e proven it time and time again. I鈥檓 just, I鈥檓 floored.鈥�
Concerns about eroding voter confidence
Nikki Tyree, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Maryland, called the letter 鈥渆xtremely disturbing鈥� and linked it directly to so-far unsuccessful efforts by the same agency to obtain the state鈥檚 voter database.
鈥淭he idea that you fail in court, and your next course of action is to threaten detention or arrest 鈥� it speaks volumes to how election officials are viewed in this country,鈥� Tyree said. 鈥淵ou cannot threaten your way into winning elections, not here, not in Maryland, not in America. You cannot threaten our public servants into giving you what you want.
鈥淭he reality is that if anybody ever bothered to actually learn, they would see our election officials here follow the law that has been laid out for them by Maryland鈥檚 General Assembly,鈥� she said.
Both DeMarinis and Tyree said the effort is meant to diminish trust in state and local elections. Tyree blamed 鈥済roups of people who fundamentally are willfully ignorant about how the law works.鈥�
鈥淭heir goal isn鈥檛 to make sure our voter rolls are as clean as possible,鈥� she said. 鈥淭heir goal is to have enough people believe that there is something wrong with our elections, where they can cry foul, and they can get what they want as the winner. That鈥檚 it.鈥�
Recent polling shows that Americans across the political spectrum are losing confidence in the election process. Two-thirds of Americans surveyed in a聽聽conducted by PBS 小萝莉影视, NPR and Marist University expressed confidence in the accuracy of their state and local elections, 10 points lower than a similar poll conducted before the 2024 election.
The decline is driven by double-digit decreases among Democratic and independent voters.
Election officials, advocates on alert
Action against state election officials has increased since Trump took office nearly two years ago.
In that time, the president has issued multiple executive orders on elections. A 2025 order mandated proof of citizenship for federal voter registration. Another issued earlier this year directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile citizenship lists and use the United States Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters determined by federal authorities to be eligible.
Both were blocked by federal courts.
The administration has also demanded voter rolls from Maryland and other states. The detailed databases contain personal identifying information and even detailed voter histories. Maryland has joined a number of other states in refusing the request, an action that has resulted in federal lawsuits by the administration.
There have also been a number of high-profile raids. Federal agents seized ballots in Georgia as the president continues to press unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in the 2020 election.
Last month, agents with the FBI and Homeland Security聽聽from a progressive group focused on social justice and voting rights.
Tyree said there is real cause to worry about the possibility of similar actions in Maryland against election officials and voting rights advocates.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not doing anything wrong. We鈥檙e just trying to get people to vote, but if your goal is to stop people from voting, or more specifically, if your goal is to stop people from voting who you know won鈥檛 vote for you or for your interested party, this is a really good way to do it,鈥� Tyree said. 鈥淗ave a bunch of raids that don鈥檛 mean anything. Arrest the top election official for doing his job.鈥�
鈥楾here will be a response鈥�
Dhillon gives DeMarinis five days to respond with information about 鈥渉ow the state of Maryland intends to ensure it is complying with these federal laws both at the state and local level.鈥�
A department spokesperson did not respond to questions about the consequences of not meeting the five-day deadline.
DeMarinis said 鈥渢here will be a response鈥� but did not immediately outline what it might say.
Those responses are to be sent to William Mohrman, a newly hired senior counsel who was also the lead attorney in a lawsuit against DeMarinis and the elections board last month.
Mohrman once represented Minnesota officers accused in the police custody death of George Floyd. He is part of a group of attorneys who worked on challenges to the 2020 election and have been hired within the Civil Rights Division.
Mohrman led the department鈥檚 federal lawsuit seeking comprehensive聽. A federal judge聽.
On Monday, the department filed a notice of appeal.
Mohrman also represents the department in a similar lawsuit in Georgia.
DeMarinis, commenting on the appeal, said he believed the state was on solid legal grounds to deny access to the voting records and believed the agency would prevail.
