The U.S. Department of Justice sued California on October 15, 2026, demanding state officials stop counting mail-in ballots from approximately 20,000 registered voters flagged as likely noncitizens until their citizenship is confirmed. Attorney General Todd Blanche cited election integrity concerns, while California Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber rejected the suit as an unfounded voter suppression attempt violating federal restrictions on voter roll changes near Election Day.
Federal prosecutors' statements
- ▪First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli stated on October 15, 2026, that federal authorities will not allow California to dilute the votes of American citizens
- ▪Attorney General Todd Blanche stated on October 15, 2026, that state-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable and that California's actions in facilitating noncitizen voting undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system
Federal list of alleged noncitizen voters
- ▪U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Homeland Security Investigations compiled a list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizens by comparing voter rolls against agency records, Social Security Administration data, and State Department records using third-party software
- ▪The Department of Justice provided California officials with a password-protected thumb drive containing a list of approximately 20,000 registered voters identified by federal agencies as likely noncitizens who received vote-by-mail ballots for the November 3, 2026 election
- ▪Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin previously claimed in July 2026 that California had 190,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls, a figure California officials noted dropped to 20,000 in the Department of Justice's October 15, 2026 lawsuit against California
California officials reject federal demands
- ▪California Secretary of State Shirley Weber rejected the Department of Justice's demands on October 15, 2026, stating the federal government provided no evidence or verified methodology for its claim that 20,000 registered voters are noncitizens
- ▪California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated on October 15, 2026, that state officials will not comply with federal demands to withhold ballots, noting the federal government is violating federal law restricting voter roll changes within 90 days of an election
Inaccuracies in federal voter lists
- ▪California Secretary of State Shirley Weber cited a prior incident in Nevada where federal authorities flagged nearly 16,000 registered voters as potential noncitizens, but Nevada subsequently determined that all were U.S. citizens
- ▪Federal administration lists of potential noncitizen voters were previously found to be inaccurate in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
California voter registration laws
- ▪California state law requires that only U.S. citizens can register to vote and that ineligible registrants must be removed from voter rolls
- ▪Under California law, all registered voters are automatically sent vote-by-mail ballots, and California had a record high of 23,164,977 registered voters as of September 4, 2026
Federal laws on voting
- ▪Federal law restricts states from conducting systematic voter roll maintenance within 90 days of a federal election to prevent eligible voters from being improperly removed close to Election Day
- ▪Federal law explicitly prohibits non-U.S. citizens from voting in federal elections
Legal rulings on SAVE program
- ▪U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan previously blocked the Department of Homeland Security's SAVE program in June 2026, ruling that it violated privacy rights and could wrongly remove voters
- ▪The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency order on September 25, 2026, allowing states to use the Department of Homeland Security Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program to verify voter eligibility while legal challenges proceed
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