Justice Department sues California over 20,000 alleged non‑citizen voters

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, seeks a court order to block the use of mail‑in ballots linked to a DOJ‑provided list of suspected non‑citizens.

By Felo News Desk · Published Thu, 15 Oct 2026 22:46:23 GMT

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Thursday in a federal district court in California, alleging that the state failed to review a list of roughly 20,000 suspected non‑citizen voters and could count their mail‑in ballots in the upcoming midterm election.

What happened

The complaint was lodged after the Department of Justice gave California a 48‑hour deadline on Tuesday to examine a thumb‑drive containing the names of alleged non‑citizen voters. The DOJ said the state missed that deadline and did not take “serious effort” to verify citizenship. The suit asks the court to prevent California from counting any mail‑in ballots from the individuals on the list.

What the reports add

Al Jazeera noted that the lawsuit was filed in a U.S. District Court in California and quoted DOJ officials saying the agency had tried to work collaboratively with the state before resorting to legal action. The New York Post added that the thumb‑drive was provided to Los Angeles County officials, and that Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter warned Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan that failure to act would trigger a legal challenge. Both outlets reported that the list was said to contain about 20,000 non‑citizens, but the New York Post emphasized the timing as two days after the DOJ’s 48‑hour order.

What was said

According to Al Jazeera, DOJ officials said the agency had attempted to “work collaboratively” with California but that the state “made no serious effort to do so.” The New York Post reported that Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter warned California officials in a letter that they would face a legal challenge if they failed to review the list.

How it came about

The lawsuit follows a DOJ letter sent on October 14 that warned California of possible legal action if it did not verify the citizenship of mail‑in ballot recipients (see earlier Felo coverage). That letter, signed by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, provided a password‑protected thumb‑drive with the suspected non‑citizen list and set a 48‑hour deadline for compliance. The failure to meet that deadline led to the filing of the current suit.

Key facts

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit in a California federal district court to block the counting of mail‑in ballots for about 20,000 alleged non‑citizen voters. (aljazeera.com)
The DOJ had given California a 48‑hour deadline on October 13 to review a thumb‑drive containing the list, which the state missed. (nypost.com)
Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter warned Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan that failure to act would result in legal action. (nypost.com)