Politics · October 15, 2026
Justice Department sues California over noncitizens getting ballots
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against California, alleging that over 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote and have received mail-in ballots for the upcoming midterm elections. The DOJ is seeking to enjoin the state from tabulating these specific ballots until citizenship status is verified. The lawsuit follows a dispute in which federal officials provided a thumb drive of names to local authorities, which California officials refused to access, citing security and privacy protocols. While the DOJ frames the action as necessary to prevent state-facilitated voter fraud, California officials have characterized the claims as unsubstantiated and part of a broader effort to interfere with election administration.
Read the original coverage
- CBS NewsCenter-left
Justice Department sues California, claiming it
Read at CBS News ↗ The Justice Department sued California to try to block the state from counting mail-in ballots it receives from 20,000 people the Trump administration says may not be U.S. citizens
Read at Wall Street Journal ↗- Roll CallCenter
DOJ sues California over mail ballots, alleging they were sent to noncitizens
Read at Roll Call ↗
Reported across the spectrum
- The Justice Department sued California in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
- The DOJ alleges that more than 20,000 noncitizens are unlawfully registered to vote in California.
- The lawsuit seeks to prevent the state from counting ballots from suspected noncitizens until their status is determined.
- Federal officials provided a thumb drive of suspected noncitizen names to county officials, including those in Los Angeles.
- California election officials refused to review the thumb drive, citing security protocols and privacy concerns.
- Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that 'state-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable.'
Reported by only some outlets
- The DOJ has filed 31 similar lawsuits against various states to obtain voter roll data.
- The DOJ has lost 26 of these related cases and has not yet achieved a legal victory in them.
- Senate Democrats, including Alex Padilla and Richard Durbin, wrote a letter demanding information on these DOJ actions.
- Trump issued an executive order in March seeking to curtail mail voting.
- The Supreme Court recently allowed the creation of a nationwide citizenship database while blocking a USPS-related rule.
- FBI Director Kash Patel refused to rule out sending agents to polling places during a recent hearing.
Left-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
Right-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
Centrist outlets tend to focus on…
Both articles highlight the tension between federal oversight and state election administration, focusing on the legal arguments and the technical disagreement over the security of the provided data. They frame the DOJ's actions within the context of the Trump administration's broader, and often legally unsuccessful, efforts to change voting procedures.
Where coverage diverges
Single-perspective coverage; cross-spectrum comparison limited.
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