Politics · October 20, 2026
Noncitizen snared in California’s biggest ever voter fraud bust reveals exactly how he did it
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 28 green card holders in California with felonies related to illegal voter registration and casting unlawful ballots. These arrests are part of a broader federal initiative called "Operation Protect the Vote," which has resulted in 112 to 113 charges across 20 states. The DOJ has also filed a lawsuit against California officials, seeking to segregate the ballots of approximately 20,000 individuals they identify as likely noncitizens. California state officials and voting rights advocates have criticized the federal actions as a form of voter intimidation and have pointed out that the 28 charges represent a minuscule fraction (0.0001%) of the state's 23.1 million registered voters. Several defendants claim they were confused about their eligibility or were told it was acceptable to vote by poll workers or canvassers.
Read the original coverage
DOJ Charges 28 California Residents With Voting-Related Crimes Amid Trump’s Voter Fraud Push
Read at The New York Times ↗- ABC NewsCenter-left
DOJ charges 28 with unlawful voting, other election-related offenses in California
Read at ABC News ↗ - NPRCenter-left
DOJ charges 28 in California with voting crimes as election tensions escalate
Read at NPR ↗ - New York PostRight
Noncitizen snared in California’s biggest ever voter fraud bust reveals exactly how he did it
Read at New York Post ↗ - CalMattersCenter
Federal prosecutors accuse 28 green card holders of illegally registering or voting
Read at CalMatters ↗ California Says DOJ Non-Citizen Voting Suit Borders on ‘Absurd’
Read at Bloomberg ↗- The GuardianCenter-left
DoJ charges 28 green card holders in California over alleged voter fraud
Read at The Guardian ↗ - The FederalistRight
DOJ Busts Noncitizen Voters After Leslie Stahl Says It's No Issue
Read at The Federalist ↗
Reported across the spectrum
- 28 individuals in California, all lawful permanent residents (green card holders), have been charged with election-related felonies.
- The DOJ filed a lawsuit against California and Los Angeles County regarding a list of 20,000 names identified as likely noncitizens.
- Federal prosecutors have charged over 110 people nationwide in the last two months for similar registration and voting offenses.
- California has approximately 23.1 million registered voters.
- State officials, including Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Attorney General Rob Bonta, characterize the fraud as rare rather than widespread.
Reported by only some outlets
- One defendant, Erick Ronaldo Soto Mendizábal, claims poll workers told him it was 'OK' to cast a ballot even after he stated he was not a citizen.
- A defendant in Sacramento, Kamlesh Shah, stated he believed he was eligible because he had a Real ID and no one at the polling place stopped him.
- The DOJ sent a thumb drive to Los Angeles County officials with a password on a sticky note, which the county refused to open due to security protocols.
- In a similar federal effort in Nevada, the DHS identified 185 people as noncitizens who were later confirmed to be U.S. citizens.
- Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter admitted the government list may contain errors and that 190,000 was an initial 'ceiling' estimate before manual verification.
Left-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
characterize the DOJ's actions as a strategy to sow doubt in election results and intimidate voters; emphasize the potential for disenfranchising legitimate citizens through faulty federal data; highlight that defendants were often confused about eligibility rather than acting with malicious intent.
Right-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
highlight the ease with which noncitizens reportedly bypassed state voting safeguards; emphasize the DOJ's stance that the arrests prove the need for stricter verification; quote federal officials warning that election workers could face 'aiding and abetting' charges.
Centrist outlets tend to focus on…
focus on the statistical insignificance of the charges relative to the total voter population; report on the tension between federal enforcement and state data privacy protocols; detail the specific methodology used by the DOJ to identify suspects.
Where coverage diverges
Coverage diverges along left/right lines — see Framing tab for specifics.
About these outlets
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