Federal prosecutors sent letters to California county election offices on Friday, Oct. 23. The letters demand that officials set aside and verify ballots the Justice Department says may belong to noncitizens 1. The Los Angeles County registrar says at least 18 counties received similar letters 1.
Counties were given 48 hours to provide identifying information on the voters the department suspects. That includes Social Security numbers, ID information and a copy of each registration. The letter also asks counties to sequester any ballot where citizenship cannot be verified 1.
The letter to San Bernardino County says the federal list includes 1,133 people from that county 1. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli warned officials about the stakes 1.
Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,
A fight already in court
The letters follow an earlier Justice Department approach to California. Around Oct. 13, the department sent a similar letter to Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan. It said the United States would "have no choice but to seek emergency relief" if they did not act 2.
Earlier this month, the federal government also sued Los Angeles County and the secretary of state's office. The suit seeks to block them from counting votes from more than 20,000 people it alleges are "likely" noncitizen voters. A hearing is set for Tuesday 1.
On Friday, the administration asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on that lawsuit without waiting for the district judge. It set a Saturday deadline 1.
Earlier in the week, federal authorities charged 28 people from the 20,000-name list with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. These are charges, not convictions 1.
What California says
California's secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar oppose the demands. State lawyers say the request threatens to delay certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They also argue the federal data is unreliable and that citizens could lose their votes 1.
Voting is underway. More than 23 million registered voters received mail ballots earlier this month, and the state says over 330,000 mail ballots have already been counted 1.
Trump's DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud.
The wider record
Data shows illegal voting by noncitizens is very rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races 1. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has filed 31 lawsuits to force states to hand over unredacted voter rolls. It has lost 26 and has not won any so far 1.
The division has also acknowledged it intends to share that data with the Department of Homeland Security so the lists can be screened for noncitizens 1.
What happens next
The counties' 48-hour deadline falls this weekend. The 9th Circuit's Saturday deadline and Tuesday's hearing come next 1. Election day is Nov. 3.
California argues that ballots set aside on the strength of an unreliable list could be counted late or not at all, and that citizens could bear the cost 1.
The Record
- Justice Department letter to Secretary of State Shirley Weber and L.A. County's registrar demands that ballots from suspected noncitizens be set aside 2.
- Letters go to at least 18 California counties with a 48-hour deadline; the administration asks the 9th Circuit to rule by Saturday 1.
- Hearing scheduled in the federal lawsuit over more than 20,000 alleged noncitizen voters 1.
Sources
- CBS News, “DOJ demands that some California counties set aside alleged noncitizen ballots” (2026-10-24). cbsnews.com/news/doj-california-counties-set-aside-verify-ce
- Colorado Politics, “DOJ demands California review list of 'likely noncitizens'” (2026-10-15). coloradopolitics.com/2026/10/15/doj-demands-california-revie
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