Politics · November 7, 2026
US Justice Department drops bid to force California to set aside disputed ballots
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has moved to dismiss its lawsuit against California that sought to prevent the state from counting approximately 20,000 ballots belonging to individuals the federal government alleged were noncitizens. The voluntary dismissal follows a Supreme Court rejection of an emergency appeal to separate these ballots earlier in the week. DOJ attorneys stated in their filing that the requested relief was no longer feasible because the ballots were being processed and commingled with the general pool, making it impossible to identify and segregate them before a scheduled November 13 hearing. The dismissal occurs in the wake of midterm elections where Republican candidates faced significant losses.
Read the original coverage
- Associated PressAllSides: Lean LeftMBFC: Left-Center
US Justice Department drops bid to force California to set aside disputed ballots
Read at Associated Press ↗ - CBS NewsMBFC: Right-Center
DOJ moves to drop its lawsuit asking California to set aside alleged noncitizen ballots
Read at CBS News ↗ - The HillMBFC: Least Biased
DOJ dismisses lawsuit over California's 20,000 disputed ballots
Read at The Hill ↗ - PBS NewsMBFC: Left-Center
Justice Department drops bid to force California to set aside disputed ballots
Read at PBS News ↗ - HuffPostMBFC: Left
U.S. Justice Department Drops Bid To Force California To Set Aside Disputed Ballots
Read at HuffPost ↗ - The Epoch TimesMBFC: Right-Center
DOJ Pulls Lawsuit Over California’s 20,000 Disputed Ballots
Read at The Epoch Times ↗
Reported across the spectrum
- The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss its own lawsuit against California.
- The lawsuit sought to stop the processing of approximately 20,000 ballots suspected of belonging to noncitizens.
- The Supreme Court had previously rejected an emergency appeal from the DOJ in this case.
- The DOJ filed its voluntary dismissal on November 6.
Reported by only some outlets
- A special master was scheduled to evaluate the accuracy of the voter list on November 13.
- The Justice Department claimed it is still evaluating other methods to address potential noncitizen voting.
- California officials and a presiding federal judge previously described the list of suspected noncitizens as out-of-date or inaccurate.
- The DOJ stated in filings that disputed ballots are being stripped of identifying information, making segregation impossible.
Left-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
emphasize that the lawsuit was part of an effort to 'assert control' over state-run elections based on claims of illegal voting lacking evidence, while highlighting recent Republican electoral losses as the backdrop for the dismissal.
Right-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
note that federal authorities suspected the voters were not U.S. citizens and specify that the DOJ is still exploring other ways to address noncitizen voting concerns.
Centrist outlets tend to focus on…
focus on the procedural reasons for the dismissal, specifically the commingling of ballots that rendered the requested legal relief moot.
Where coverage diverges
Coverage diverges along left/right lines — see Framing tab for specifics.
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