Electoral systems

DOJ Sues California to Block 20,000 Mail-In Ballots From Suspected Noncitizens

Is the Trump administration enforcing a common-sense citizenship check or casting doubt on the election?

2 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

DOJ Sues California to Block 20,000 Mail-In Ballots From Suspected Noncitizens

Story

Above: U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. Image credit: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) filed an emergency court action against California on Thursday, asking a federal judge to block the state from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 voters it identified as likely noncitizens until their citizenship is verified.
U.S. Department of Justice
Todd Blanche on X
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, names Secretary of State Shirley Weber, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan and the state. California mails a ballot to every active registered voter.
The Wall Street Journal
Badlands Media
The Washington Post
This comes after acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent letters Tuesday to Weber and Logan, enclosing a password-protected thumb drive of names and a 48-hour review deadline. Logan said his office did not access the drive, citing data privacy and information security protocols.
The Hill
New York Post
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told California in July that as many as 190,832 noncitizens might be registered to vote in the state. Weber called the claims unsubstantiated and said DHS has not explained its methodology or data sources.
CBS News
Californiaglobe
Elsewhere, Nevada election officials said last month that a Homeland Security list of 185 people flagged as improperly registered noncitizens consisted entirely of lawful citizens. A Reuters review found 129 people prosecuted for noncitizen voting since 1996.
Reuters
The New York Times
Glenn Thrush on X

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The Spin

Republican narrative

California has left the DOJ with no choice but to take legal action. Diluting the votes of citizens is a real harm, and no amount of election-week inconvenience makes it acceptable. Verifying a flagged list and setting those ballots aside until a judge weighs in costs nothing to anyone legally eligible to vote and California's refusal makes one wonder if the state is hiding something.

Bill Essayli on X

Benny Johnson on X

Gunther Eagleman on X

Democratic narrative

Demanding that thousands of ballots be tossed weeks before an election has nothing to do with clean rolls and everything to do with manufacturing doubt about the outcome. Noncitizen voting is vanishingly rare, and similar claims elsewhere collapsed the moment actual names were checked. Running elections belongs to the states, not to a DOJ chasing a political narrative.