DOJ Sues California After State Refuses to Act on Suspected Noncitizen Voters
15th October 2026
The Department of Justice is suing California after state officials failed to comply with a 48-hour ultimatum to review a list of suspected noncitizen voters and set aside their ballots pending citizenship verification.
On Tuesday, acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter sent letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, demanding action on a federal list of potential noncitizens.
The DOJ instructed officials to segregate ballots already returned, stop sending ballots to individuals on the list until their citizenship was verified, and refrain from counting ballots pending verification.
“Allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes,” McCotter wrote, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.
Gov. Gavin Newsom took to X, calling the demand “dangerous nonsense.”