US DoJ Threatens California Over Alleged Noncitizen Voters

The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday threatened California with emergency legal action unless election officials examine a federal list of suspected noncitizen voters within 48 hours and restrict their ballots pending citizenship checks.

The demands appear in a letter reviewed by Reuters, sharpening the Trump administration’s confrontation with the state ahead of the November 3 congressional elections.

Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter sent the letter to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.

It says Los Angeles County officials received a password-protected thumb drive identifying people Washington “believes are likely noncitizens” who had been sent mail-in ballots.

Restrictions on Ballots

The department wants California to stop issuing ballots to listed voters until officials establish their citizenship.

For ballots already distributed, the letter demands separate handling when they arrive. Those already received should remain uncounted while officials verify citizenship.

Failure to comply would leave the federal government with “no choice but to seek emergency relief,” McCotter wrote.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kiersten Pels confirmed the letter to Reuters and said the department would pursue legal measures to enforce federal law and safeguard elections.

Neither the White House nor Weber’s office immediately answered requests for comment.

Fraud Claims and Data Demands

The administration has repeatedly portrayed noncitizen voting as widespread. Multiple studies, however, have found it to be rare.

A Reuters investigation published in September found that administrative mistakes and software problems may have placed more than 30,000 noncitizens on state voter rolls since 2000.

How many actually voted remained uncertain.

Experts told Reuters that those figures were too small to alter election outcomes, given roughly 170 million registered voters nationwide.

The department’s pressure extends beyond California.

In July, election chiefs across all 50 states received warnings that they could face criminal prosecution for knowingly allowing noncitizens to remain registered or vote.

Its Civil Rights Division has also sought private voter information from nearly every state, including Social Security numbers and birth dates.

The department sued 30 states governed by both parties after they withheld voter rolls; it has lost 26 cases and secured no victories.

Separately, Reuters reported last month that the Department of Homeland Security turned to a commercial data broker for sensitive information not available in public voter records.

Officials and experts warned that the approach could wrongly identify citizens as unlawful voters and expose them to detention.

Federal prosecutors announced 16 additional criminal cases on Monday involving alleged noncitizen voting or fraudulent registration.

California’s Electoral Stakes

California officials have spent months resisting federal intervention in election administration.

McCotter’s letter says Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin notified the state on July 16 of suspected noncitizens on its rolls.

The dispute carries national political consequences. Republicans are defending narrow congressional majorities, while California’s newly approved district map strongly favors Democrats and could help determine control of the House.

Los Angeles voters will also consider a separate proposal to permit some noncitizen legal residents to participate in municipal elections.