Federal Courts Clash Over Noncitizen Voter Investigations
The Department of Justice sued California to block suspected noncitizen ballots while a federal judge halted DHS voter investigations in nine states.
The United States Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against California on October 15, 2026, to prevent the tabulation of ballots from more than 20,000 suspected noncitizen registrants. Federal prosecutors argue that counting these ballots would violate federal law and dilute lawful votes, asserting that once illegal ballots are commingled with lawful ones, the harm may be impossible to remedy.
On October 21, the case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge David O. Carter. This follows a 2025 case in which Judge Carter dismissed a similar DOJ lawsuit against California, claiming the agency's actions had a chilling effect on minority groups and working-class immigrants. A hearing for a temporary restraining order is set for October 27.
Simultaneously, Federal Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to halt field interviews and other investigative actions aimed at identifying noncitizen voters in nine states, including California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. The ruling came after advocacy groups argued that the agency relied on flawed data that included legal citizens, creating a climate of voter intimidation. Judge Martínez-Olguín ruled that the public interest in safe elections outweighs the government's interest in combating unlawful voting. The order remains in effect until after the midterm elections.
