Federal agents arrest 28 in California voter-fraud operation before midterms
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Federal agents arrested at least 11 people and charged 28 in California, alleging noncitizen voter registration.
The raids escalate a DOJ lawsuit over 20,000 disputed registrants two weeks before midterms.
Background
The operation, dubbed "Operation Protect the Vote," is run by the Department of Justice under Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, with DHS and FBI Director Kash Patel publicly backing it. It follows the DOJ's disclosure of a list of 20,000 registered California voters it says are "likely noncitizens," which California Secretary of State Shirley Weber's office declined to act on, calling the request "outrageous." The arrests come two weeks before midterm elections and after federal agents seized ballots and election records in Georgia and Arizona.
How it unfolded
- Oct 13, 2026The Justice Department said it gave California Secretary of State Shirley Weber a list of 20,000 registered voters it claimed were ineligible based on federal records.
- Oct 16, 2026The Justice Department threatened to prosecute California election officials if they knowingly count mail-in ballots from the 20,000 people the administration calls "likely noncitizens."
- Oct 18, 2026CBS reported federal agents had seized ballots and examined voting machines, and packed up more than 600 boxes of 2020 election records in Fulton County, Georgia.
- Oct 19, 2026In predawn raids across California, federal authorities announced at least 11 arrests and charges against 28 people, alleging they registered to vote as noncitizens; the DOJ said all were foreign nationals or green card holders.
- Oct 20, 2026CyberScoop reported the arrests signal the government is willing to act on threats to investigate or prosecute more than 190,000 California voters it calls "potential" noncitizens.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said each of the 28 defendants appears on the 20,000-name list and that California's refusal to verify citizenship "puts at risk" the vote count.
- Official
- An unnamed DHS spokesperson said ICE and Homeland Security Investigations are "actively rooting out" voter fraud and that "ONLY Americans should elect American leaders."
- Caution
- California officials accused the administration of sowing doubt and meddling in an election already under way, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the arrests "voter intimidation."
- Analysts
- Protect Democracy contributors Ben Berwick and Jessica Marsden said assertions of mass noncitizen voting have routinely proven meritless and called the lawsuit a "publicity stunt."
- Party
- Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican, said threats in past elections were external but "now we also have threats coming from within our own government."
Still unverified
The 20,000-name list is described as unverified; S. elections.