DOJ Drops California Lawsuit After Washington Court Defeat

The United States Department of Justice withdrew a lawsuit on November 7, 2026, that sought to prevent California from counting approximately 20,000 ballots suspected of being cast by noncitizens. The agency filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, stating that the requested relief was no longer available because the challenged ballots had been commingled with lawful ones during processing. This follows a series of legal setbacks, including a rejection by the Supreme Court of the United States and warnings from U.S. District Judge David O. Carter that segregating ballots would risk disenfranchising citizens and wreak havoc on the midterm elections.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta characterized the dismissal as the federal government throwing in the towel to avoid scrutiny over the accuracy of its noncitizen voter lists. Despite the federal dismissal, California prosecutors have arrested more than 30 noncitizens accused of illegal voter registration.

Simultaneously, a federal judge in Washington issued a two-week temporary restraining order prohibiting the Department of Justice from forcing state officials to set aside ballots from more than 400 alleged noncitizens. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs rejected the federal list, describing it as a dumpster fire disguised as a legal document and citing factual errors, including an incorrect date for Election Day. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead ruled that the federal government may not demand the sequestration of ballots or threaten officials with prosecution for counting votes as required by state law.