Justice Department Sues California to Block 20,000 Ballots

The United States Department of Justice sued California and Los Angeles County officials on October 15, 2026, to block the counting of mail-in ballots from approximately 20,000 suspected noncitizens. The lawsuit followed a 48-hour ultimatum issued by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, who demanded the state segregate these ballots until citizenship could be verified. The DOJ provided the list of names via a password-protected thumb drive to Los Angeles County, but Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan refused to access the device, citing security protocols and the fact that the password was delivered on a sticky note.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber condemned the action as a desperate attempt to suppress voters and manufacture an election controversy. Weber argued the federal data was unsupported and likely inaccurate, noting that mail ballots had already been sent on October 5. In response to the state's resistance, the DOJ issued further warnings that election officials who knowingly tabulate ballots from noncitizens risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.

This legal battle is part of a broader Trump administration effort to purge noncitizens from voter rolls. Simultaneously, the League of Women Voters and other groups filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., alleging the Department of Homeland Security illegally collected voter data from 47 states. This follows a ruling by Judge Sparkle Sooknanan that the administration's data collection project violated the Privacy Act by conducting a dragnet investigation without specific evidence of fraud.