Justice Department drops suit over 20,000 California ballots after losing in three courts

The Justice Department on Friday dropped its own lawsuit that sought to stop California from counting roughly 20,000 ballots it alleged went to noncitizens ². It filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in federal court in Los Angeles ¹. The move came after the department failed in three courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court ¹.

The case asked California to set aside ballots from voters on a Homeland Security Department list of purported noncitizens until their status could be verified ¹². California officials have said the list is out of date and includes legitimate voters ².

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How the case fell apart

U.S. District Judge David Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee, rejected the department's request for a temporary restraining order last week ¹. That is a short-term court order. He said the request would force the state to abandon its own election procedures ¹.

Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the executive branch,

Carter also questioned the list itself. He noted that a similar list in Nevada began with about 16,000 names and was cut to 185 registered voters, who all turned out to be citizens ¹.

From Channel GOPXavier Becerra declares victory in CaliforniaXavier Becerra · 169 plays · captioned, with the source named

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals then sided with Carter in a split decision ¹. The panel said that if the government wants different rules for mail ballots, it should take that to Congress, not the courts ¹. On Monday, the eve of Election Day, the Supreme Court rejected the department's emergency appeal in a one-line, unsigned order ². The justices gave no explanation and no dissents were noted ¹.

What the department said

In its filing, the department said it "exhausted its appeals to obtain timely relief all the way to Supreme Court" ¹. It added that it is "evaluating how to best ensure that American votes are protected" ¹.

Its motion also conceded the practical problem. By the time of a hearing set for next Friday, California will have "commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones," the motion said ². As of early Friday, California had processed roughly 9 million ballots, with nearly 5 million still to count ².

Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said before the election, "We want to stop the illegal voting. We don't want to chase it later" ². The dismissal avoids the hearing before Carter, who had appointed a special master to examine how the list was assembled ¹.

The federal government never should have brought this lawsuit. Now, having lost at every level, they finally recognized there was no more case left to pursue,

What happens next

The fight is not over. The Justice Department is still in litigation with immigrant and voting rights groups over its use of the list ². A judge in a separate case barred the department last week from threatening local election officials who process these ballots. That order expires at 5 p.m. next Friday ¹.

The department is also appealing the dismissal of its Alaska lawsuit against the Democrat's Senate victory there. It has yet to file a full brief ². California prosecutors have arrested over 30 noncitizens accused of illegally registering to vote. Election clerks have been subpoenaed to testify before grand juries in November ².

That matters because the administration lost this case before any ballots were set aside. The pattern is a federal push to override state election rules that judges, including appointees of both parties, rejected on the Constitution's text ¹. Mr. Trump has said elections are rife with illegal voting without providing evidence ².

The Record

1. Nov 2, 2026The Supreme Court rejected the Justice Department's emergency appeal in a one-line, unsigned order ².
2. Nov 6, 2026The Justice Department filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of its California ballot lawsuit ¹².

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<h2>Justice Department drops suit over 20,000 California ballots after losing in three courts</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Campaign Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/justice-department-drops-suit-over-20-000-california-ballots-after-losing-in-three">The GOP Files</a> on Friday, November 6, 2026.</em></p> <p>The Justice Department on Friday dropped its own lawsuit that sought to stop California from counting roughly 20,000 ballots it alleged went to noncitizens . It filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in federal court in Los Angeles . The move came after the department failed in three courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court .</p> <p>The case asked California to set aside ballots from voters on a Homeland Security Department list of purported noncitizens until their status could be verified . California officials have said the list is out of date and includes legitimate voters .</p> <h2>How the case fell apart</h2> <p>U.S. District Judge David Carter, a Bill Clinton appointee, rejected the department&#39;s request for a temporary restraining order last week . That is a short-term court order. He said the request would force the state to abandon its own election procedures .</p> <blockquote><p>Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the executive branch,</p><p>&mdash; David O. Carter, U.S. District Judge, Central District of California</p></blockquote> <p>Carter also questioned the list itself. He noted that a similar list in Nevada began with about 16,000 names and was cut to 185 registered voters, who all turned out to be citizens .</p> <p>The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals then sided with Carter in a split decision . The panel said that if the government wants different rules for mail ballots, it should take that to Congress, not the courts . On Monday, the eve of Election Day, the Supreme Court rejected the department&#39;s emergency appeal in a one-line, unsigned order . The justices gave no explanation and no dissents were noted .</p> <h2>What the department said</h2> <p>In its filing, the department said it &quot;exhausted its appeals to obtain timely relief all the way to Supreme Court&quot; . It added that it is &quot;evaluating how to best ensure that American votes are protected&quot; .</p> <p>Its motion also conceded the practical problem. By the time of a hearing set for next Friday, California will have &quot;commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones,&quot; the motion said . As of early Friday, California had processed roughly 9 million ballots, with nearly 5 million still to count .</p> <p>Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said before the election, &quot;We want to stop the illegal voting. We don&#39;t want to chase it later&quot; . The dismissal avoids the hearing before Carter, who had appointed a special master to examine how the list was assembled .</p> <blockquote><p>The federal government never should have brought this lawsuit. Now, having lost at every level, they finally recognized there was no more case left to pursue,</p><p>&mdash; Jill Habig, founder and CEO, Public Rights Project</p></blockquote> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>The fight is not over. The Justice Department is still in litigation with immigrant and voting rights groups over its use of the list . A judge in a separate case barred the department last week from threatening local election officials who process these ballots. That order expires at 5 p.m. next Friday .</p> <p>The department is also appealing the dismissal of its Alaska lawsuit against the Democrat&#39;s Senate victory there. It has yet to file a full brief . California prosecutors have arrested over 30 noncitizens accused of illegally registering to vote. Election clerks have been subpoenaed to testify before grand juries in November .</p> <p>That matters because the administration lost this case before any ballots were set aside. The pattern is a federal push to override state election rules that judges, including appointees of both parties, rejected on the Constitution&#39;s text . Mr. Trump has said elections are rife with illegal voting without providing evidence .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/justice-department-drops-suit-over-20-000-california-ballots-after-losing-in-three">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/justice-department-drops-suit-over-20-000-california-ballots-after-losing-in-three.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Courthouse News, “Trump administration drops lawsuit over California election procedures” (2026-11-07). courthousenews.com/trump-administration-drops-lawsuit-over-c
2. CBS News, “DOJ dropping suit over alleged noncitizen ballots” (2026-11-07). cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-drops-lawsuit-california

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