DOJ Sues California Over Alleged Noncitizen Voter Registration

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint against the State of California on Thursday, alleging that more than 20,000 likely noncitizens are registered to vote in the state. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, seeks to prevent the counting of ballots sent to these individuals in the upcoming November midterm elections.

Federal Allegations and Legal Demands

The 16-page complaint, addressed to California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber and Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan, states that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the names through an analysis of voter rolls and federal data. According to the DOJ, Homeland Security Investigations "reasonably believes that around 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in California."

The suit argues that because California law automatically sends federal ballots to every registered voter, thousands of these individuals received mail-in ballots in early October. The DOJ is asking the court to either block officials from tabulating these votes or to order the state to independently verify the citizenship of the flagged voters before counting them.

"State-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a DOJ statement. "If found responsible in a court of law, the State of California will have seriously undermined confidence in our electoral system and violated laws that protect our nation’s representative system of government."

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California stated that state officials had the opportunity to remove these individuals but refused. "We are taking California to federal court to demand that the votes of American citizens not be diluted by noncitizens," Essayli said.

State Officials Reject Federal Claims

California officials have rejected the federal government's allegations and refused to comply with demands to review the list of suspected noncitizens. Secretary of State Shirley Weber described the situation as an "emergency of the DOJ’s creation" and stated that her office would not disenfranchise voters based on "unverifiable information or methodology that you still fail to explain or provide."

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office would fight the lawsuit, calling the federal government's actions "desperation and bad faith." "We are not impressed with the federal government’s letter. We are not impressed with its lawsuit," Bonta said during a news conference. "This is what the federal government does. They lie, they advance misinformation, disinformation, they advance conspiracy theories."

Governor Gavin Newsom called the filing a "sad, desperate attempt" by President Donald Trump to suppress voters. "The courts have made clear that the federal government has no role in how a state carries out its election process," Newsom said. "A totally unprecedented request that should scare the hell out of every American."

Context of Previous Disputes

This lawsuit follows a series of conflicts between the Trump administration and state election officials. Earlier this year, federal officials alleged that 190,000 noncitizens were registered in California, a claim state officials disputed. The DOJ's current complaint cites a lower figure of approximately 20,000.

Roll Call reported that the lawsuit marks the first attempt by the Trump administration to directly stop the counting of votes after months of efforts to assert control over federal elections. Previous attempts, including an executive order to curtail mail voting, have faced legal challenges. The Supreme Court blocked a key element of that order last month but allowed the creation of a nationwide citizenship database.

Additionally, a separate lawsuit filed by the UCLA Voting Rights Project on behalf of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles seeks to prevent the federal government from interfering with California’s elections. Matt Barreto, faculty director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project, stated that the federal government has "absolutely no role" in maintaining state voter rolls.

Why it matters

The lawsuit represents a significant escalation in the legal battle over election administration between the federal government and states. It raises critical questions about the authority of the Department of Justice to intervene in state-run election processes and the verification of voter citizenship. The outcome could set a precedent for how federal and state jurisdictions interact regarding voter eligibility and the counting of ballots in future elections.

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Sources

• dailycaller.com: DOJ Sues California, Alleging 20K Noncitizens Are Registered On State Voter Roll | The Daily Caller
• rollcall.com: DOJ sues California over mail ballots, alleging they were sent to noncitizens – Roll Call
• sfchronicle.com: DOJ sues to block California ballot-counting over fraud claims
• nypost.com: California sued over 20K suspected noncitizens on state’s voter rolls
• justthenews.com: DOJ sues California for 'state-facilitated voter fraud,' citing 20,000 suspected foreign voters | Just The News

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