The Justice Department has given election officials 48 hours to review a list of people it believes may be noncitizens on California voter rolls in Los Angeles County. The demand appears in a letter dated Tuesday, according to a Reuters report, and it lands with the November midterm election only weeks away.
Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter addressed the letter to Secretary of State Shirley Weber. The Associated Press reported that a separate, similar letter went to the Los Angeles County registrar’s office. Neither office had replied to requests for comment when the first reports appeared.
The Justice Department says it gave Los Angeles County a password-protected drive of names it considers likely noncitizens who were mailed ballots. It wants those ballots withheld or set aside until citizenship is confirmed, a demand that reaches deep into California voter rolls, and it says it will ask a court for emergency relief if officials do not act within 48 hours. California officials have not publicly responded, and the legal route the department would use is unclear.
Key Facts at a Glance
What the Letter Says About California Voter Rolls
The department says it supplied Los Angeles County officials with a password-protected thumb drive. On it, the federal government lists people it believes are likely noncitizens and who were sent mail ballots this year. CNN reported that the letter also asks local officials to work with the Department of Homeland Security.
The instructions for California voter rolls are specific. Per Reuters, the letter tells the state not to send ballots to anyone on the list until their citizenship is confirmed. If a listed voter already has a ballot, the letter says it should be “segregated” when returned. Ballots that have already come back should not be counted until citizenship has been determined.
The letter warns that the United States will have “no choice but to seek emergency relief” if California does not carry out the process in time. Reuters also noted that the letter says Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told California officials on July 16 that the federal government believed noncitizens were on the state’s rolls.
How the Justice Department Explains Its Move
A department spokesperson, Kiersten Pels, defended the approach in a statement to CNN. She said federal law allows only citizens to vote in federal elections and that the department will take the legal steps it considers necessary to protect election integrity.
The fight over California voter rolls follows earlier pressure on states. In July, Votebeat reported that the department warned election officials nationwide they could face criminal prosecution if they knowingly leave noncitizens on voter lists or let them cast ballots. Votebeat said none of the state officials it contacted expressed concern about that earlier warning.
Why Election Experts Question the Timing
David Becker, a former Justice Department voting section lawyer who now advises election administrators, criticized the move in comments to CNN. He noted that California mailed ballots to all voters on October 5 and that the state’s voter lists are public. In his view, the department had ample time to review them and should not be pressing changes so close to Election Day.
CNN also reported that election officials generally see the window for changing procedures as closed, and that the reason for sending the letter now is unclear.
The Legal Path Is Not Clear
It is not clear what legal authority the department could use to force California to act. The Constitution gives states the main role in running elections, while allowing Congress to set some rules. Any emergency request about California voter rolls would be decided by a court, and no such filing had been reported at the time of writing.
Earlier Noncitizen Claims Have Drawn Scrutiny
CNN reported that the administration has claimed hundreds of thousands of noncitizens appear on voter rolls. In August, Mullin said Homeland Security had found 250,000 noncitizens registered in four states, including California, by comparing voter lists with immigration records.
Some of those claims have not held up, according to CNN. In Nevada, Homeland Security acknowledged that an initial figure of 15,900 was unvetted and said manual review had confirmed 185 cases. Nevada officials later said all 185 were citizens, a finding Homeland Security disputes.
CNN also reported that the department has sued 30 states for unredacted voter roll data and has lost every case decided so far, including the one involving California. The names on the Los Angeles list, drawn from California voter rolls, have not been published in the reports reviewed for this article, so their accuracy cannot be independently checked.
Reuters added one separate local detail: Los Angeles voters will also decide on a ballot measure that would let certain noncitizen legal residents vote in municipal elections. That measure is distinct from the federal letter.
What to Watch Next
The 48-hour window is the next point to watch. Readers should look for public replies from Weber’s office and from Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, along with any court filing from the department. Until officials respond, the full picture of how California voter rolls and ballots will be handled remains incomplete.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Justice Department ask California to do?
It asked officials to review a list of people it believes are likely noncitizens, withhold ballots from them until citizenship is confirmed, and set aside returned ballots without counting them until then.
How long do officials have to respond?
The letter set a 48-hour window. It says the department will seek emergency relief if California does not implement the process in that time.
Has California responded publicly?
Not in the early reports. Spokespeople for Secretary of State Shirley Weber and the Los Angeles County registrar did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
What evidence did the department provide?
The letter says it supplied a password-protected thumb drive of names the government believes are likely noncitizens. The reports reviewed did not publish the names or the number of people listed.
Is this part of a wider federal effort?
Yes. The department warned election officials in all 50 states in July about possible criminal liability, and CNN reports it has sued 30 states over voter roll data and lost every case decided so far.
