It comes after the DOJ filed a lawsuit<\/a> against California on Thursday, over the state\u2019s refusal to review a list of more than 20,000 names the department said were likely noncitizens and discard the ballots of anyone confirmed whose status could not be confirmed. <\/p>\n Read More on News<\/p>\n The state had been given 48 hours to do this after officials received the list, on a USB drive, on Tuesday. California declined, saying it did not consider the list secure or substantiated. <\/p>\n California Can’t Refuse Ballots Based on ‘Unverified Allegations’<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot withhold or refuse to count ballots based solely on unverified allegations,\u201d Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan said in a statement, adding that DOJ had not provided its \u201cunderlying evidence, source, or methodology supporting its assertions that individuals identified in its records are ineligible to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n In the DOJ\u2019s lawsuit, it argued that rejecting an \u201cencrypted thumb drive from a federal agent\u201d shows the state\u2019s \u201ctotal lack of commitment to work with the Federal Government to protect the integrity of our elections.\u201d <\/p>\n It asked the court to block California from counting mail-in ballots cast by suspected noncitizens until their citizenship status could be verified. It also revealed new details about how the department compiled the list<\/a>.<\/p>\n ‘Aiders and Abettors to a Federal Crime’<\/p>\n On Friday, Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent the letter about possible criminal action to Peter M. Bollinger, assistant county counsel for Los Angeles County. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Logan were copied on the letter.<\/p>\n \u201cIf persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime,\u201d McCotter said.<\/p>\n Newsweek has contacted offices for Weber and Logan, via email outside of normal working hours, for comment. <\/p>\n State officials argue that complying with the DOJ\u2019s request would be violating federal law, that the list is unsubstantiated and that the deadline was unreasonable.<\/p>\n When Weber responded to the DOJ, she called the allegations \u201cvague\u201d and argued that it would be unlawful to comply because of the National Voter Registration Act generally prohibits systematic voter-roll removals within 90 days of a federal election.<\/p>\n \u201cAs you fully acknowledge, ballots have already been delivered to voters and voting is well underway,\u201d she wrote in her letter<\/a>. \u201cDespite this, and with less than three weeks before the election, you are demanding unprecedented measures that threaten thousands of Californians\u2019 right to vote, based on unverifiable information or methodology that you still fail to explain or provide.\u201d<\/p>\n Weber also slammed the 48-hour deadline, \u201con the eve of an election,\u201d adding: \u201cThis is an emergency of the DOJ\u2019s creation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia\u2019s election administration will continue to be governed by applicable federal and state law, not by unsubstantiated claims and outrageous demands,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She went on to say that \u201cif the federal government possesses proof that certain registered voters in California are ineligible,\u201d she would \u201cwelcome the opportunity to review\u201d the evidence.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, I will not disenfranchise thousands of Californians\u2014or order any county elections official to do so\u2014based solely upon an unsupported and likely inaccurate \u2018belie[f]\u2019 that certain voters are \u2018likely\u2019 noncitizens,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Similarly, in response to Thursday\u2019s lawsuit, Logan said in a statement<\/a>: \u201cWe cannot withhold or refuse to count ballots based solely on unverified allegations, nor can we disregard the legal requirements governing our election.\u201d<\/p>\n DOJ\u2019s Case Against California<\/p>\n The DOJ has asked U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to block the state from counting mail ballots from people it has flagged as likely noncitizens until their citizenship can be verified.<\/p>\n It said California \u201crefused to independently verify the citizenship of people included on the list\u201d or \u201cagree to work with the Federal Government to verify citizenship status before tabulating those voters\u2019 votes.\u201d<\/p>\n The complaint argued that the federal law that makes it illegal for noncitizens to vote overrides California\u2019s election procedures, and that continuing to count the ballots cast by those on the DOJ\u2019s list without further verification would amount to \u201cknowingly facilitat[ing] unlawful voting.\u201d<\/p>\n The DOJ has rejected arguments that the list is not secure, with McCotter saying in his Friday letter that the drive was password-protected and hand-delivered. \u201cThis list was developed through a multilayered, multiagency investigative methodology that relied upon internal immigration records, data matching, supervisory verification procedures, and more,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n McCotter also rejected California\u2019s invoking of the 90-day rule, saying \u201capplies only to systematic list-maintenance programs\u2014not to targeted, individualized evidence of unlawful voting identified by federal law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNoncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime\u2014and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Department has not requested a purge, cancellation of registrations, or any programmatic action,\u201d he said. \u201cWe requested only temporary ballot segregation pending citizenship verification.\u201d<\/p>\n Repeating the threat of criminal prosecution, McCotter said: \u201cNoncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime\u2014and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wider Picture<\/p>\n The Trump administration has made noncitizen voting a major focus ahead of the midterms<\/a>, though documented cases remain rare. Reuters reported that an investigation published in July identified 129 people prosecuted for noncitizen voting since the federal statute criminalizing it was enacted in 1996.<\/p>\n Thursday’s lawsuit puts not only those 20,000 California ballots before a federal court, but also the administration’s method of flagging the voters.<\/p>\n “We are taking California to federal court to demand that the votes of American citizens not be diluted by noncitizens,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Governor Gavin Newsom also condemned the lawsuit Thursday, calling it a “sad, desperate attempt” by the Trump administration to suppress California voters less than three weeks before Election Day. He said California would continue to conduct its elections despite the federal challenge.<\/p>\n Attorney General Todd Blanche has doubled down on the DOJ’s request and lawsuit, saying: “State-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America.”<\/p>\n \u201cIf found responsible in a court of law, the State of California will have seriously undermined confidence in our electoral system and violated laws that protect our nation\u2019s representative system of government,” he said. “The Department of Justice will continue working to uncover cases of voter fraud, hold fraudsters accountable, and restore trust in American elections.”<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26289768080857.jpg\"\/)
Why California Won\u2019t Comply<\/p>\n