Federal authorities charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with illegal voter registration and voting offenses under Operation Protect the Vote. The Department of Justice filed a motion requesting courts force California to isolate ballots from 20,000 flagged individuals before the November 3, 2026 midterms. Federal officials warned election workers of potential criminal aiding-and-abetting charges if they process noncitizen ballots. California officials counter that the charges represent 0.0001% of the state's 23 million voters and accuse the federal government of voter intimidation.
Federal voter fraud charges in California
- ▪Federal law enforcement officers arrested 11 of the 28 charged individuals in California by October 19, 2026 as part of Operation Protect the Vote.
- ▪Federal prosecutors alleged that 21 of the 28 charged noncitizens in California had cast unlawful ballots in federal elections.
- ▪The 28 individuals charged in California were distributed across all four federal judicial districts: 13 in the Central District, 6 in the Eastern District, 5 in the Northern District, and 4 in the Southern District.
- ▪Federal authorities charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with election-related crimes, including illegal registration and unlawful voting.
Omar Alexander Muñoz prosecution
- ▪Omar Alexander Muñoz, a 72-year-old Belizean national and permanent resident living in Commerce, California, was arrested on October 19, 2026 and charged with fraudulently registering in 2019 and voting in four elections.
- ▪Omar Alexander Muñoz had previous criminal convictions in the United States for grand theft and narcotics possession.
Context on rarity of noncitizen voting
- ▪More than 150 million people voted in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, while research and election experts consistently find that noncitizen voting is extraordinarily rare.
- ▪Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the federal arrests as voter intimidation and noted that 28 people represent a tiny fraction of California's 23 million registered voters.
- ▪Center for Election Innovation & Research executive director David Becker stated that the 28 charged noncitizens represent of California's registered voters.
Federal legal actions over California voter rolls
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California on October 15, 2026 after state officials declined to review a thumb drive containing 20,000 flagged voter records within a 48-hour deadline.
- ▪Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter stated that the 190,000 noncitizens figure previously cited by Homeland Security represented an initial ceiling across all confidence levels, while 20,000 represents high-confidence records.
- ▪The Justice Department filed a motion on October 19, 2026 seeking a emergency court order forcing California to set aside mail-in ballots from 20,000 flagged voters until their citizenship is verified.
California officials reject federal voter list demands
- ▪California Secretary of State Shirley Weber stated that classifying thousands of voters on the federal government's list as ineligible would violate federal law restricting systematic voter list removals shortly before an election.
- ▪Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan refused to access the Department of Justice's thumb drive citing data privacy protocols, noting it was delivered with a password on a sticky note.
Warnings of prosecution to election officials
- ▪President Donald Trump posted a warning on Truth Social stating that California election officials could face long prison sentences if they count ballots cast by noncitizens in the midterm elections.
- ▪Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent a letter warning Los Angeles County officials that election workers who knowingly tabulate ballots cast by noncitizens risk criminal prosecution as aiders and abettors.
Nationwide voter fraud charges
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 156 people with voter fraud-related offenses since the beginning of the Trump administration.
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice charged 113 people across 20 states with illegal voting or registration offenses in the seven weeks prior to October 19, 2026.
Litigation over state voter rolls
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to obtain voter roll information including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and driver's license numbers.
- ▪Courts across the United States have repeatedly blocked the Department of Justice's legal efforts to compel states to hand over their voter rolls.
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