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DOJ Gives California 48 Hours to Review Noncitizen Voter List

4:10 PM ETConfirmed

Politics Desk

In Short: The Trump Justice Department is demanding California review a list of possible noncitizens on voter rolls or face legal action.

The Trump Justice Department is giving California 48 hours to review a list of individuals federal authorities believe may have received mail-in ballots for the upcoming November election without being U.S. citizens, or face legal action.

In a letter dated October 13, acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter informed California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan that the Justice Department provided Los Angeles County election officials with a password-protected thumb drive containing names of individuals believed to be noncitizens.

Weber's office responded that it did not directly receive any kind of list to review and expressed serious doubts about the reliability of the data and accuracy of the claims.

The Justice Department's letter stated that if California cannot implement the process by the deadline, the United States will seek emergency relief.

Weber's office noted that California requires only U.S. citizens to register to vote and that non-eligible registrants are removed from the state’s voter rolls.

The Justice Department has charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct this year, including 50 who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens.

Weber emphasized that any action to remove a voter from eligibility must be based on verifiable information, not assertions of unconfirmed data matching.

The Justice Department provided a password-protected thumb drive with the names of people the federal government believes are likely noncitizens and were sent mail-in ballots from California.

Weber's office said the password was written on a sticky note, raising concerns about data security.

Los Angeles County has not opened the password-protected thumb drive, citing data security concerns.

Weber's office stated that the demand was being made just three weeks before Election Day, adding that the Justice Department's new demand appears to be a plausible threat that DOJ will attempt to engage in warrant-based ballot seizure.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• “Allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes.” “States are responsible for voter registration, and the Federal Government is responsible for maintaining immigration records to enable verification of citizenship,” it adds.
• “The U.S. DOJ’s relentless efforts to unlawfully gain access to states’ protected voter data and purge voter rolls serve only to cause chaos and fuel public distrust in our elections,” Weber said in a statement.
• “If you cannot implement this process by then, given the ongoing federal election, the United States will have no choice but to seek emergency relief,” the letter states.
• By Katy Grimes, October 14, 2026 1:57 pm The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday gave California officials 48 hours to review a list of alleged noncitizen voters or face ‌legal action.
• In the Oct. 13 letters, directed to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the Justice Department provided officials in Los Angeles County with a “password-protected thumb drive” with the names of people ​the federal government “believes are likely noncitizens” and were sent mail-in ballots from California.
• The Justice Department is threatening California with possible legal action after it says the state mailed ballots to noncitizens ahead of the midterm elections.
• “Federal and state laws are clear on how voter eligibility is established,” Logan wrote.
• Weber’s office issued a statement late Wednesday saying the Justice Department gave it 48 hours to obtain the list from Los Angeles, investigate it and take action, noting the demand was being made just three weeks before Election Day.
• Reviewed by Codex validator (AI) · 15 Oct 2026 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.
• The DOJ sent a letter on Tuesday to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber informing her that federal officials provided Los Angeles County election officials with a list of names of individuals who authorities believe to be noncitizens.
• In more election news, the Justice Department gave California officials 48 hours to review a list of alleged noncitizen voters or face legal action.
• It also said that over the summer, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that California had 190,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls, but refused to provide the methodology or data sources when the office asked for them.

What's still developing

• “On July 16, Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin made you aware that there are likely numerous noncitizens registered to vote in the federal election in California,” the letter reads, noting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin asked for cooperation in addressing the issue.
• “Your response the following week did to refute that noncitizens are registered to vote in California,” the letter continued, adding that the answer did not contest that “noncitizens receive ballots through California’s vote-by-mail regime, which automatically sends voting materials to ‘every registered voter.'” The letter explained that it provided a password-protected thumb drive with a list of names to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and would provide the office with a list as well if given a secure email address.
• The Division sent requests for complete computerized statewide voter registration lists, and argued the data was needed to enforce the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and Civil Rights Act of 1960.
• “Allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes,” McCotter wrote in the letters, which was obtained by NBC News.
• Only until she was grown did she begin to see a possible connection between growing up on top of the nation’s largest urban oil drilling field and her own sickness and the asthma that affected her sister.
• That question had brought Orduno, 25, to a community meeting opposing a possible data center here, and her fears, she said, likely would influence her vote in the midterm election too.
• Federal prosecutors charged a Honduran national with voter fraud in California after he allegedly registered to vote under an alias and cast ballots in multiple elections.
• The son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber was cremated at Rose Family Funeral Home in Simi Valley, California, TMZ reported Friday, Sept. 25, citing a death certificate obtained by the outlet.
• Ten days after the governor signed the bill that enabled data sharing, 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.

Sources

• ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videoslink
• Breitbartlink
• California Globelink
• Democracy Now!link
• Fox Newslink
• Just The Newslink
• KRIS 6 News Corpus Christilink
• Knewzlink
• Los Angeles Daily Newslink
• NBC Newslink
• NewsCordlink
• SRN Newslink
• Tampa Free Presslink
• The Daily Wirelink
• Washingtonexaminerlink
• Itemonlinelink
• KGW News — video link