The Department of Justice has officially taken legal action against California after giving it a tight deadline to review a list of names the federal government believes are “likely noncitizens” who were sent ballots to vote in the midterms.
The DOJ alleges that more than 20,000 people “who are likely aliens” are registered to vote in California. According to California's latest Report of Registration, the state had 23,164,977 registered voters as of Sept. 4, 2026, a record high.
Previously, DOJ Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter asked Shirley Weber, California's secretary of state, to review a list of names of people believed to be likely noncitizens who received vote-by-mail ballots and determine within 48 hours whether any citizens are
listed.
The list of names was provided to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk on Oct. 13, according to a letter from McCotter.
As part of the federal government's request, it wants the state to "segregate — not cancel —" any ballots of individuals on the list whose citizenship California cannot independently verify immediately.
Additionally, for individuals on the list who have already received their ballot, the federal government wants the state not to count their ballot until California officials can confirm their citizenship status.
“This is not political or controversial,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli on X, adding that “we will not allow California to dilute the votes of American citizens.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office called the lawsuit “unfounded” on Thursday, Oct. 15.
“This is a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day,” the governor said in a statement. “The courts have made clear that the federal government has no role in how a state carries out its election process, and now, in the middle of Californians voting, they have asked local officials — who do a damn good job defending democracy — to violate federal law.”
Newsom continued to say this is an “unprecedented request that should scare the hell out of every American” and that California will continue to “carry out free and fair elections.”
The complaint alleges that “agencies within the Department of Homeland Security found thousands of likely noncitizens registered to vote in California who would automatically be sent federal ballots” under California law. According to the complaint, the federal government alerted the California Secretary of State that a preliminary review found numerous likely noncitizens registered to vote in the state months before vote-by-mail ballots began going out to registered voters.
What is the federal government trying to do?
The DOJ is asking the court to stop California from counting vote-by-mail ballots from likely noncitizens in the upcoming election until it can determine their citizenship status, according to the complaint.
The DOJ said the court should order California to set aside vote-by-mail ballots from those the government identifies as likely noncitizens and to verify their citizenship status, either independently or in collaboration with the federal government, before counting their vote.
USA TODAY reporter Noe Padilla contributed to this story.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOJ sues California in clash over noncitizen voter allegations
