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Politics

DOJ demands California review mail ballots sent to alleged noncitizens

Federal officials gave the state 48 hours to segregate unverified ballots or face potential emergency litigation.

Updated Oct 15, 2026 · 12:53 UTC5 reports

The short version

  • The Justice Department ordered California officials to check a thumb-drive list of suspected noncitizens who may have received mail-in ballots.[CBS News]
  • Federal authorities directed local election administrators to segregate, rather than cancel, ballots for individuals whose citizenship cannot be verified.[CBS News]
  • State officials criticized the 48-hour timeline and questioned federal claims, while the Justice Department warned it could seek emergency court relief.[ABC News · CBS News · Fox News · Associated Press]

Key facts

  • Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent an October 13 letter directing California election officials to verify the citizenship status of individuals on a provided list within 48 hours.[CBS News · Fox News]
  • The Justice Department instructed officials to segregate, rather than cancel, ballots for any listed individuals whose U.S. citizenship cannot be confirmed.[CBS News · NBC News]
  • The DOJ warned that it will pursue emergency legal relief if California does not implement the requested process before the deadline.[ABC News · Fox News]
  • California Attorney General Rob Bonta dismissed the federal letter as an effort to promote false conspiracy theories regarding voter fraud.[ABC News · Associated Press]
  • California automatically distributes vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters, with mailings having commenced on October 5.[ABC News · NBC News]
  • The Justice Department has previously sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., for voter registration data and lost those court challenges, with California prevailing on privacy grounds.[ABC News · Associated Press]

What remains uncertain

  • The exact number of individuals identified on the federal government's thumb drive remains unspecified in the demand letter.[ABC News]
  • The data sources and methodology used by federal authorities to compile the list of suspected noncitizens have not been verified by state officials.[ABC News · Fox News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.