The Trump administration sued California on Thursday to block the state from counting mail-in ballots from roughly 20,000 voters flagged as likely noncitizens, escalating a high-stakes legal battle just three weeks before the November midterm elections.
The federal lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, targets Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan. It demands an immediate court order prohibiting election officials from tabulating votes from the flagged individuals until their citizenship status can be verified. The legal action follows a 48-hour ultimatum issued earlier in the week by acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, who delivered a password-protected thumb drive containing the voter list to local officials.
Local Officials Reject Federal Data Demands
The confrontation began when Justice Department officials dispatched letters demanding that local election administrators review the data by midday on Wednesday. Officials were instructed to segregate mail-in ballots already returned by anyone on the list and withhold new ballots from voters whose citizenship remained unconfirmed.
Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan declined to open the device citing concerns that opening it would violate established data privacy and security protocols. Local authorities noted that the password for the drive was written on an adhesive note, describing the delivery method as untrustworthy.
In a statement issued Thursday, Logan noted that his office received both the letter and the thumb drive, and explained that his office cannot withhold ballots or refuse to count them based solely on unverified allegations.
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.Courts have made clear the federal government has no role in running state elections.We will defend free and fair… https://t.co/szA7UpePjc
California Officials Push Back Against the Lawsuit
State leaders swiftly condemned the litigation as a partisan attempt to suppress turnout while voting is already underway across the state. Gavin Newsom wrote on X that the lawsuit is a sad and desperate attempt by President Trump to use a politicized Justice Department to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day.
Rep. Adam Schiff also denounced the pressure campaign, characterizing it in a post on X as another dangerous attempt to destabilize safe and secure elections. California Attorney General Rob Bonta pointed out a sharp discrepancy in the administration’s figures, noting that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had claimed over the summer that 190,000 noncitizens were registered in the state.
That number dropped significantly by the time the Justice Department filed its list of 20,000 names. What happened to those 170,000?
Bonta asked at a press conference, adding They just got those wrong.
State officials also argued that the federal demand violated a federal law prohibiting major changes to voter rolls within 90 days of an election.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber maintained that California has robust state law requirements that ensure only eligible U.S. citizens remain on voting lists. In a formal letter to federal prosecutors, she characterized the sudden demands as an emergency of the DOJ’s creation
and noted that the federal government refused to share its underlying data sources or methodology.
Prosecutors Defend Federal Election Intervention
Federal prosecutors defended the intervention as a necessary measure to protect the integrity of federal elections. Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, wrote on X that the department’s actions were designed to ensure that the votes of American citizens are not diluted by ineligible ballots, adding that the move is not political or controversial.
Todd Blanche defended the lawsuit in his own statement, asserting that state-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America. Bonta countered by stating that every count, recount, hand count, lawsuit, and audit has found that there is no widespread voter fraud in the country, vowing that California will defend free and fair elections.
The Trump administration has prioritized combating noncitizen voting nationwide, bringing charges against roughly 90 individuals for various election misconduct offenses this year, including 50 cases involving alleged noncitizen voting. Election law experts, however, question the timing of the lawsuit. David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, noted in a statement that the Justice Department violated its own rules about investigating elections so close to Election Day, particularly when past claims have been full of errors.
