DOJ gives California 2 Days to verify voters’ Citizenship or Face Lawsuit!
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is demanding that California investigate suspected noncitizen voters within 48 hours and set aside ballots whose voters’ citizenship cannot be verified, escalating the administration’s fight to enforce federal election laws ahead of Election Day.
TRUMP DOJ PUTS CALIFORNIA ON NOTICE
The Trump administration is turning up the pressure on California election officials, demanding immediate action to investigate individuals flagged as potential noncitizens who were sent mail-in ballots.
Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter sent a letter Tuesday to Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan, accompanied by a thumb drive containing a list of individuals described as “likely noncitizens who were sent a vote-by-mail ballot,” according to a copy of the letter shared with Axios.
The Justice Department is demanding that Los Angeles County investigate the individuals’ citizenship status by noon on October 15.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber also received a similar letter, signaling that the federal government is pressing state and local officials to address potential violations of federal election law while voting is already underway.
The number of individuals included on the Los Angeles County list was not disclosed in the letter.
MIDTERMS UPDATE
DOJ DEMANDS ACTION OR THREATENS EMERGENCY COURT ACTION
The Justice Department is demanding that California officials take specific steps to address the flagged ballots.
Officials are being asked to withhold ballots from individuals on the list until their citizenship has been confirmed. For ballots already returned, the DOJ wants officials to segregate, rather than cancel, those ballots and suspend signature verification or counting while citizenship remains unresolved.
The distinction matters: the department is not simply demanding that officials immediately discard ballots. It is seeking to prevent ballots associated with unresolved citizenship questions from being counted before those questions are addressed.
McCotter warned California officials that the federal government could take the dispute to court if the state fails to comply with the deadline.
“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,” McCotter wrote.
The deadline puts California officials under pressure to respond quickly as the state’s mail-in voting process continues.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: FEDERAL ELECTIONS ARE FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS
The Justice Department defended its demand, arguing that enforcing citizenship requirements for federal elections should not be controversial.
“This should not be controversial, as the criminal statute is clear: only American citizens may vote in federal elections. It is a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections, and the DOJ is asking California to ensure that is not occurring,” a DOJ spokesperson said.
The administration’s position is that election officials must take potential noncitizen voting seriously and investigate citizenship concerns before ballots are counted.
Under federal law, noncitizens are prohibited from voting in federal elections. The Trump administration has made investigating suspected illegal voting a priority, dedicating resources from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and federal prosecutors to related cases.
The latest confrontation places the DOJ’s enforcement efforts directly against California’s election administration as the state moves toward Election Day.
CALIFORNIA FACES QUESTIONS OVER VOTER REGISTRATION OVERSIGHT
The dispute comes amid broader disagreements between the Trump administration and California officials over the state’s voter rolls.
In July, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin alleged that more than 190,000 California voters had been erroneously registered. State officials disputed the administration’s claim.
The administration has since increased investigative efforts targeting suspected illegal voting, with approximately 1,600 ongoing cases reported as of mid-September.
The controversy raises questions about how effectively states verify citizenship when maintaining voter registration databases and how quickly election officials respond when federal authorities identify potentially ineligible registrants.
California officials have not publicly responded to the latest letters, according to the supplied report.
For the Trump administration, the issue is part of a broader effort to strengthen election integrity and ensure that federal voting rights are reserved for eligible American citizens.
ELECTION INTEGRITY OR RISK OF WRONGFULLY FLAGGING VOTERS?
Critics of the DOJ’s approach argue that the administration’s citizenship checks could incorrectly flag eligible American citizens, potentially delaying legitimate ballots shortly before Election Day.
David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, questioned the timing of the investigation and argued that the administration could have examined California’s voter rolls before mail-in ballots began going out on October 5.
He also cited concerns about previous federal claims involving suspected noncitizen voters that were later revised or disputed.
In Nevada, a review by state election officials reportedly reduced an initial federal allegation involving 16,000 registrations to approximately 185 potentially problematic cases, according to The New York Times.
In Pennsylvania, federal officials acknowledged varying levels of confidence in citizenship flags involving approximately 14,000 voters, according to Votebeat.
In New Jersey, the Department of Homeland Security alleged that 35,000 noncitizens were registered to vote. The state’s governor acknowledged a software-related registration problem, but the reported number of affected registrations was approximately 6,600, far below the federal allegation.
These cases illustrate why citizenship verification requires careful investigation rather than assuming every flagged registration represents an illegal vote.
Election experts also note that actual voting by noncitizens remains rare, and previous registration errors have sometimes occurred through motor vehicle agency systems.
However, those concerns do not eliminate the need to investigate credible evidence of potential violations. The central dispute is how officials should verify citizenship while protecting eligible voters from administrative mistakes.
WHY THIS FIGHT MATTERS
The showdown between the Trump administration and California could become a significant legal battle over federal election enforcement, state election administration and the handling of ballots flagged for citizenship concerns.
The DOJ is demanding that officials take action before its October 15 deadline, warning that it could seek emergency court intervention if California does not implement the requested procedures.
The outcome could influence how election officials handle similar citizenship concerns elsewhere, particularly when mail-in voting is already underway.
The Trump administration is seeking to ensure that suspected ineligible ballots are investigated before they are counted. California, meanwhile, faces the challenge of resolving those questions without improperly delaying or excluding eligible American voters.
THE BOTTOM LINE
President Trump’s Justice Department is confronting California over suspected noncitizen voter registrations, demanding investigations, safeguards for ballots with unresolved citizenship questions and action by October 15.
The administration argues that federal election laws must be enforced and that citizenship concerns cannot simply be ignored. Critics warn that rushed investigations could incorrectly flag eligible voters, pointing to past errors in federal estimates.
The coming days will determine whether California complies with the DOJ’s demands or faces an emergency court fight. The central question is whether state officials can promptly verify citizenship concerns while ensuring that every eligible American’s vote remains protected.
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