DOJ Sues California Over Alleged Non-Citizen Voter Rolls

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the state of California on Thursday, Oct. 15, alleging that state election officials failed to review a list of alleged non-citizens who may have received mail-in ballots for the upcoming midterm election. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, seeks to prevent the state from counting votes from individuals identified by federal agencies as likely non-citizens.

Federal Demands and State Response

The legal action follows a letter sent on Tuesday by acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan. The letter included a password-protected thumb drive containing names of individuals the federal government believes are non-citizens registered to vote. McCotter gave state officials a 48-hour deadline to confirm they were reviewing the list and segregating any potential ballots from those individuals.

California officials rejected the demand. Secretary of State Shirley Weber stated that the request was "legally baseless" and described it as an "emergency of the DOJ’s creation." She noted that California law requires only U.S. citizens to register to vote and that her office would not disenfranchise voters based on "unverifiable information or methodology that you still fail to explain or provide."

Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan also refused to access the thumb drive, stating that doing so "would conflict with established data privacy and information security protocols." Logan added that the device was not considered a secure medium and that the letter did not specify the number of individuals involved or describe the information contained in the records.

Disputed Numbers and Legal Arguments

The Department of Justice contends that Homeland Security Investigations "reasonably believes that around 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in California." This figure is a revision from earlier claims by federal officials, who initially alleged that 190,000 non-citizens were registered in the state. State officials have disputed these numbers.

In its filing, DOJ lawyer Andrew Darlington asked the court to order state officials to set aside vote-by-mail ballots from persons identified as likely non-citizens until their citizenship status can be determined. The DOJ argues that this verification must go "beyond relying on unverified statements of citizenship necessary to registering." Attorney General Todd Blanche stated, "State-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America."

California Attorney General Rob Bonta criticized the federal government's certainty, asking, "You believe? Or you know?" He stated that his office would fight the lawsuit, calling the timing "rife with and smacks of and reeks of desperation and bad faith."

Precedent and Broader Context

The lawsuit marks a strategic shift for the Justice Department, as it was filed by senior officials in the deputy attorney general's office rather than the Civil Rights Division, which has faced legal defeats in similar cases. The suit relies on the federal supremacy clause, arguing the department has an obligation to prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections.

However, the accuracy of the federal lists has been questioned in other states. In Nevada, a review of 185 individuals identified by the Department of Homeland Security as potential non-citizens determined that every individual on the list was a lawful citizen.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called the lawsuit "a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day" and said the federal government’s numbers were made up.

Why it matters

This lawsuit represents a significant escalation in the Trump administration's efforts to intervene in state-run elections ahead of the midterms. It raises critical questions about the balance of power between federal and state authorities regarding election administration and the integrity of voter rolls. The outcome could set a precedent for how federal agencies can challenge state election processes and handle allegations of voter fraud.

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Sources

• abcnews.com: DOJ sues California over alleged non-citizens on voter rolls - ABC News
• sfchronicle.com: DOJ sues to block California ballot-counting over fraud claims
• washingtonsun.com: DOJ Hits California With New Lawsuit Following Voter List Ultimatum - The Washington Sun
• aol.com: DOJ sues California over alleged non-citizens on voter rolls - AOL

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.