Judge gives DOJ until 5 p.m. Friday to hand 20,000-name California voter list to advocacy groups

A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to give its list of approximately 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters in California to immigration advocacy groups by 5 p.m. Friday ¹. Chief Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg issued the order at a hearing Friday, according to Newsweek ¹.

The list goes to attorneys for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) and a California voter ¹. The plaintiffs want to see the list to find out whether CHIRLA members or clients are on it, the outlet reported ¹. They are concerned the administration's efforts could discourage eligible voters from taking part in the elections ¹.

On tapeFOX40 News · Oct 28

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The order is the latest step in a series of legal challenges to the administration's efforts to identify alleged noncitizens on state voter rolls and send their information to local election officials for review ¹. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

A second judge refused to stop the ballot count

On Oct. 28, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California David Carter denied the Justice Department's request for a temporary restraining order ². The order would have forced California and Los Angeles County to stop counting vote-by-mail ballots from approximately 20,000 people on a federal list of “likely noncitizens” until their citizenship was verified ².

Judge Carter concluded that the Justice Department probably lacks both standing and a cause of action, Just Security reported ². Standing means the legal right to bring the case. The judge added that the relief the department sought would likely conflict with the National Voter Registration Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act ².

Judge Carter called the list's methodology unreliable and rebuked Justice Department letters warning county officials of federal scrutiny ². He wrote: “these threats must stop” ².

On tapeKTLA 5 · Oct 30

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Why it matters

That matters because the two rulings pull in opposite directions for the same list of about 20,000 people. One judge has refused to pause the counting of their mail ballots ²; the other has ordered the government to show the list to groups that want to check whether their own members are on it ¹.

The pattern is a court fight over the list itself, not over any single ballot. Judge Carter found the list's method unreliable and said the department probably has no standing ². Judge Boasberg's order does not decide whether anyone on the list is a noncitizen; it sets a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to hand the list to the plaintiffs' lawyers ¹.

For voters, the practical question is whether eligible citizens end up flagged. The plaintiffs say they are seeking the list to determine whether CHIRLA members or clients have been identified by the federal government ¹.

What happens next: the 5 p.m. Friday deadline ¹. If the list is turned over, the plaintiffs' attorneys can check the names before Tuesday. The ballot-counting ruling stands unless a higher court changes it ².

The Record

1. Oct 28, 2026Judge David Carter denied the Justice Department's request to stop California and Los Angeles County from counting about 20,000 mail ballots ².
2. Oct 30, 2026Chief Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg ordered the Justice Department to give its list of about 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters to CHIRLA's attorneys by 5 p.m. Friday ¹.

Sources

1. Newsweek, “Judge Gives Trump DOJ New Deadline in Fight Over 20,000 California Ballots” (2026-10-30). newsweek.com/a-federal-judge-has-ordered-the-justice-departm
2. Just Security, “Just the Docs: Federal Judge Rejects DOJ Bid to Sequester 20,000 California Mail Ballots” (2026-10-30). justsecurity.org/162670/judge-carter-denies-doj-california-b

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