Trump's Justice Department vows to keep up its voter roll push despite losing in court

The midterm election is over, but the Trump administration's hunt through state voter rolls is not. At a press conference on Thursday, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department has ongoing cases and investigations in various states, and that this work would continue no matter how last week's election turned out ¹.

We are actively, and will continue to investigate election integrity cases criminally and civilly,

Election officials and civil rights lawyers told NPR they expect the pressure to continue, especially in California ¹. The department dropped its California ballot lawsuit last week. But it has not withdrawn the grand jury subpoenas it sent to several counties, including one dated Oct. 21 to Los Angeles County ¹.

A long string of court losses

The Justice Department has lost all 28 district court cases it brought to get unredacted state voter rolls, according to a tally by Democracy Docket, a voting rights news site ². Those files include sensitive personal data such as Social Security numbers ². Cases involving Hawaii and Idaho are on hold while a federal appeals court reviews the department's losses in California and Oregon ².

In October, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan struck down the department's "list maintenance policy." She found it went beyond the administration's legal authority and broke privacy laws ². Under that program, the department collected voter rolls, compared them with federal databases and told states to remove people it suspected were not citizens. NPR reports the judge found the program unlawful and said it disenfranchised eligible voters ¹. The department has appealed ¹².

From Channel GOPBlanche won't rule out imprisoning Democratic lawmakersTodd Blanche · 314 plays · captioned, with the source named

Then, the night before the Nov. 3 election, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan blocked the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from handing lists of suspected noncitizen voters to state and local election officials ¹⁵. NPR reports the judge found the two agencies have no legal authority to send out such lists and that doing so violates the Privacy Act, a 1974 law that limits how federal agencies share personal records ¹. Her order does not stop federal investigations or prosecutions of actual lawbreaking. It also still allows individual citizenship checks through a federal system called SAVE ⁵.

They've hit substantial roadblocks because it's a lawless program that Congress has never authorized.

California: a list with big errors

California has been the main battleground. In July, President Trump said 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in four states, California among them. Federal officials later described that number as a ceiling ¹. By mid-October the federal government was alleging that 20,000 likely noncitizens were on California's rolls ¹.

When UCLA data experts examined that list, they found that 42% of the names were not on California's current voter roll, and that some people on it were naturalized citizens ¹. In Santa Cruz County, election chief Tricia Webber said more than half of the 81 people the department named were not registered in her county. She added that some birth dates on the list were set in the future, as late as 2044 ¹.

Before the election, the department sent letters to every California county warning that officials who "knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens" could be treated as accomplices to a federal crime ¹. On Nov. 6, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, announced that the department had dropped its suit to make counties set those ballots aside. A hearing on the list's accuracy, set for Nov. 13 before U.S. District Judge David Carter, will no longer take place ⁴¹.

Rather than face that scrutiny, it chose to drop its case,

Bonta's office also noted that a Justice Department lawyer in another case had admitted the department's lists have a "high error rate" ⁴.

What the prosecutions show

Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of people with voting or registering to vote without being citizens ¹. In San Luis Obispo County, District Attorney Dan Dow is looking into 63 registrations that federal officials flagged. So far he has charged one person ¹.

Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who advised the Biden White House on voting rights, told NPR the cases amount to "a trickle of actual follow-through on actual cases." He said that fits what researchers have known for decades: noncitizen voting does happen, "but it doesn't happen very often" ¹.

A leadership change, and new oversight ahead

The push will go on without the official who led much of it. Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, resigned on Nov. 5 ³. Before the midterms, her division sued dozens of states for voter information to back up Mr. Trump's claims of voter fraud, and courts threw those lawsuits out ³. About 300 career lawyers were pushed out of the division while she ran it ³.

A separate legal fight is still open. A privacy group is suing over DHS plans to build lists of verified citizens eligible to vote in all 50 states, using Social Security Administration data. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis heard arguments in late September and could rule at any time ².

That matters because Democrats will soon control both chambers of Congress, which gives them the power to question how DHS built its lists ¹. David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan group, expects close attention to the agency's methods.

I think we're going to have some very serious scrutiny of the Department of Homeland Security and their methodology

The pattern is plain. The administration keeps losing in court, its numbers keep shrinking under scrutiny, and the attorney general says the effort will continue anyway. For voters, especially naturalized citizens and people who have moved, the risk is a federal list with their name on it by mistake.

The Record

1. Oct 21, 2026The Justice Department dates a grand jury subpoena to Los Angeles County as part of its voter roll push ¹.
2. Nov 2, 2026The night before the election, Judge Tanya Chutkan bars DOJ and DHS from giving election officials lists of suspected noncitizen voters, finding the agencies lack legal authority to do so ¹⁵.
3. Nov 5, 2026Harmeet Dhillon resigns as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which had sued dozens of states for voter data ³.
4. Nov 6, 2026California Attorney General Rob Bonta announces that the Justice Department dropped its suit over about 20,000 alleged noncitizen voters before a hearing on the list's accuracy ⁴.
5. Nov 12, 2026Attorney General Todd Blanche says DOJ will keep investigating 'election integrity' cases criminally and civilly ¹.

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<h2>Trump&#39;s Justice Department vows to keep up its voter roll push despite losing in court</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Campaign Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/trump-s-justice-department-vows-to-keep-up-its-voter-roll-push-despite-losing-in">The GOP Files</a> on Saturday, November 14, 2026.</em></p> <p>The midterm election is over, but the Trump administration&#39;s hunt through state voter rolls is not. At a press conference on Thursday, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department has ongoing cases and investigations in various states, and that this work would continue no matter how last week&#39;s election turned out .</p> <blockquote><p>We are actively, and will continue to investigate election integrity cases criminally and civilly,</p><p>&mdash; Todd Blanche, U.S. Attorney General, Trump administration</p></blockquote> <p>Election officials and civil rights lawyers told NPR they expect the pressure to continue, especially in California . The department dropped its California ballot lawsuit last week. But it has not withdrawn the grand jury subpoenas it sent to several counties, including one dated Oct. 21 to Los Angeles County .</p> <h2>A long string of court losses</h2> <p>The Justice Department has lost all 28 district court cases it brought to get unredacted state voter rolls, according to a tally by Democracy Docket, a voting rights news site . Those files include sensitive personal data such as Social Security numbers . Cases involving Hawaii and Idaho are on hold while a federal appeals court reviews the department&#39;s losses in California and Oregon .</p> <p>In October, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan struck down the department&#39;s &quot;list maintenance policy.&quot; She found it went beyond the administration&#39;s legal authority and broke privacy laws . Under that program, the department collected voter rolls, compared them with federal databases and told states to remove people it suspected were not citizens. NPR reports the judge found the program unlawful and said it disenfranchised eligible voters . The department has appealed .</p> <p>Then, the night before the Nov. 3 election, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan blocked the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from handing lists of suspected noncitizen voters to state and local election officials . NPR reports the judge found the two agencies have no legal authority to send out such lists and that doing so violates the Privacy Act, a 1974 law that limits how federal agencies share personal records . Her order does not stop federal investigations or prosecutions of actual lawbreaking. It also still allows individual citizenship checks through a federal system called SAVE .</p> <blockquote><p>They&#39;ve hit substantial roadblocks because it&#39;s a lawless program that Congress has never authorized.</p><p>&mdash; Anna Baldwin, director of voting rights litigation, Campaign Legal Center</p></blockquote> <h2>California: a list with big errors</h2> <p>California has been the main battleground. In July, President Trump said 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in four states, California among them. Federal officials later described that number as a ceiling . By mid-October the federal government was alleging that 20,000 likely noncitizens were on California&#39;s rolls .</p> <p>When UCLA data experts examined that list, they found that 42% of the names were not on California&#39;s current voter roll, and that some people on it were naturalized citizens . In Santa Cruz County, election chief Tricia Webber said more than half of the 81 people the department named were not registered in her county. She added that some birth dates on the list were set in the future, as late as 2044 .</p> <p>Before the election, the department sent letters to every California county warning that officials who &quot;knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens&quot; could be treated as accomplices to a federal crime . On Nov. 6, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, announced that the department had dropped its suit to make counties set those ballots aside. A hearing on the list&#39;s accuracy, set for Nov. 13 before U.S. District Judge David Carter, will no longer take place .</p> <blockquote><p>Rather than face that scrutiny, it chose to drop its case,</p><p>&mdash; Rob Bonta, California Attorney General, Democrat</p></blockquote> <p>Bonta&#39;s office also noted that a Justice Department lawyer in another case had admitted the department&#39;s lists have a &quot;high error rate&quot; .</p> <h2>What the prosecutions show</h2> <p>Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of people with voting or registering to vote without being citizens . In San Luis Obispo County, District Attorney Dan Dow is looking into 63 registrations that federal officials flagged. So far he has charged one person .</p> <p>Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who advised the Biden White House on voting rights, told NPR the cases amount to &quot;a trickle of actual follow-through on actual cases.&quot; He said that fits what researchers have known for decades: noncitizen voting does happen, &quot;but it doesn&#39;t happen very often&quot; .</p> <h2>A leadership change, and new oversight ahead</h2> <p>The push will go on without the official who led much of it. Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department&#39;s Civil Rights Division, resigned on Nov. 5 . Before the midterms, her division sued dozens of states for voter information to back up Mr. Trump&#39;s claims of voter fraud, and courts threw those lawsuits out . About 300 career lawyers were pushed out of the division while she ran it .</p> <p>A separate legal fight is still open. A privacy group is suing over DHS plans to build lists of verified citizens eligible to vote in all 50 states, using Social Security Administration data. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis heard arguments in late September and could rule at any time .</p> <p>That matters because Democrats will soon control both chambers of Congress, which gives them the power to question how DHS built its lists . David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan group, expects close attention to the agency&#39;s methods.</p> <blockquote><p>I think we&#39;re going to have some very serious scrutiny of the Department of Homeland Security and their methodology</p><p>&mdash; David Becker, executive director, Center for Election Innovation and Research</p></blockquote> <p>The pattern is plain. The administration keeps losing in court, its numbers keep shrinking under scrutiny, and the attorney general says the effort will continue anyway. For voters, especially naturalized citizens and people who have moved, the risk is a federal list with their name on it by mistake.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/trump-s-justice-department-vows-to-keep-up-its-voter-roll-push-despite-losing-in">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/trump-s-justice-department-vows-to-keep-up-its-voter-roll-push-despite-losing-in.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. NPR, “The Trump administration's voter roll crusade could continue” (2026-11-13). wkms.org/npr-news/2026-11-13/the-trump-administrations-voter
2. Democracy Docket, “The midterms are over, but Trump's legal assault on voting continues. Here's where those cases stand” (2026-11-13). democracydocket.com/news-alerts/the-midterms-are-over-but-tr
3. NPR, “Head of Justice Department office on civil rights resigns” (2026-11-05). wunc.org/2026-11-05/head-of-justice-department-office-on-civ
4. California Attorney General's Office, “Attorney General Bonta: Trump Administration Throws in the Towel, Drops Baseless Lawsuit Seeking to Disrupt California Elections” (2026-11-06). oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-trump-
5. Idaho Public Press, “Judge halts DOJ plan to send suspected noncitizen voter lists to states” (2026-11-03). idahopublicpress.com/judge-halts-doj-plan-to-send-suspected-

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