Home · Politics · Oct 14 archive
Justice Department Threatens Legal Action Against California Over Alleged Noncitizen Voters
Confirmed
In Short: NBC News reported that the Justice Department is threatening legal action against California unless state and local officials review a list of potential noncitizens on their voter rolls within 48 hours.
The Trump administration is threatening legal action against California if it allows people on a list of alleged noncitizens to vote, according to letters obtained by Democracy Docket.
Reuters reported that the DOJ gave California officials 48 hours to review a “password-protected thumb drive” provided to Los Angeles County with names of people the Trump administration “believes are likely noncitizens.”
California, a universal vote-by-mail state, began sending ballots to its more than 20 million voters on Oct. 5.
The letter required flagged voters whose ballots were already received to have their submissions “segregated” once returned, and it said ballots already submitted should not be counted “until citizenship has been determined.”
The Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for similar information, but so far has lost those cases in court.
The Trump administration’s letter to California officials stated that if the state could not implement the process by the deadline, the United States would seek emergency relief.
California Secretary of State Weber said at the time she had “serious doubts about the reliability” of the DOJ’s data.
Federal law prohibits systemic list maintenance within 90 days of a federal election, which California officials argue makes the DOJ’s demands impractical.
The Justice Department’s actions have raised concerns about the reliability of the alleged noncitizen lists and the potential impact on voter turnout.
The Trump administration’s probe into voter fraud involving noncitizens is expanding to include multiple additional states.
The White House released documents showing that at least 250,000 foreign nationals are illegally registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada alone.
The California DMV learned on July 23 that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had demanded data from AAMVA on 17 million people with commercial driver’s licenses, including their names, birthdays, and Social Security numbers.
What this adds
The Trump administration's threat to California over alleged noncitizen voters is a continuation of ongoing efforts to address voter fraud.
The sources have not established the exact number of alleged noncitizens on the list or the specific impact on California's voter rolls.
Background
The Trump administration is threatening legal action against California if it allows people on a list of alleged noncitizens to vote, according to letters obtained by Democracy Docket.
What's confirmed
- The Trump administration is threatening legal action against California if it allows people on a list of alleged noncitizens to vote.
- The DOJ gave California officials 48 hours to comb through a “password-protected thumb drive” provided to Los Angeles County with names of people the Trump administration “believes are likely noncitizens,” Reuters reported.
- California, a universal vote-by-mail state, began sending ballots to its more than 20 million voters on Oct. 5.
- The Trump administration threatened to take legal action against California election officials if they did not review a list of alleged noncitizens on Los Angeles’ voter rolls within 48 hours.
What's still developing
- California homeowners Amy and Chris Cooke discuss their homeowners association allegedly threatening them with fines over displaying a U.S.
- EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action film set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, based on CD Projekt Red’s best-selling action-adventure RPG.
- Get instant access to exclusive stock lists, expert market analysis and powerful tools with 2 months of IBD Digital for only $20!
- This week’s featured story elaborates on their initial exclusive.
- The dress, a sequined crepe de chine maxidress from the the Rabanne x NET-A-PORTER exclusive capsule, featured an elegant scooped neck, a fitted waist, and a full skirt that hung all the way to her ankles.
- Get the bundle to stream FOX One and FOX Nation's library of exclusive and original content.
- The news of the proposed settlement comes shortly after reports of… 8/24/2026 California Attorney General called off a planned meeting on Monday after alleging Paramount leaked details of previous discussions.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the suit back in July in an effort to hold off Paramount's $110 billion proposed merger with Warner Bros.
- “California has always been a huge part of Rolling Loud’s story, and it feels good to be back,” states Matt Zingler, CEO and Co-Founder of Rolling Loud.
- And a note about how Harry never “fully found his footing” in California and always missed home.
- The season finale of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series runs 95 laps around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca road course near Monterey, California, including the famous Corkscrew.