Official Portrait of Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson

The Department of Justice has warned Utah election officials they could face criminal liability if noncitizens are knowingly allowed to remain on the state’s voter rolls or cast ballots.

In a letter this week to Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, a RINO Republican who serves as the state’s chief election official, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon outlined federal election law and requested that Utah explain within five days how it plans to comply.

“This letter is sent to you as the chief election officer of the state of Utah,” Dhillon wrote.

“This letter serves as a notice of the federal laws applicable to state and local election officials to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections.”

The DOJ also attached a memorandum outlining the responsibilities of state election officials under federal law and warning of potential criminal penalties for failing to carry out those duties.

“Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s [statewide voter registration list] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability,” the letter states.

The warning comes as the Trump administration continues litigation seeking access to Utah’s complete voter registration database.

This forms part of its broader effort to verify voter eligibility and enforce federal election laws.

Henderson criticized the letter on social media, calling it a “love letter” from the DOJ and describing the warning as “truly bizarre behavior.”

Last week I submitted a comment on the proposed USPS rule. https://t.co/ht4bwNSooU pic.twitter.com/A8yAGwtZMZ

— Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson (@LGHendersonUtah) July 7, 2026

Earlier this year, Utah completed an audit of more than two million voter registrations.

State officials reported that 99.72 percent of registered voters were verified U.S. citizens and identified 27 alleged noncitizens and 25 probable noncitizens for further review.

The Justice Department has filed similar lawsuits in numerous states seeking access to voter registration records.

The administration argues the information is necessary to ensure compliance with federal election law and protect the integrity of voter rolls.

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown’s office is representing Henderson in the ongoing lawsuit. The case remains pending in federal court.

During the 2024 presidential election, Henderson declined to endorse Donald Trump.

Ben Kew is a writer and editor. Originally from the UK, he moved to the U.S. to cover Congress for Breitbart News and has since gone on to editorial roles at Human Events, Townhall Media, and Americano Media. He has also written for The Epoch Times, The Western Journal, and The Spectator.

You can email Ben Kew here, and read more of Ben Kew's articles here.

Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can't see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.