DOJ demands California sequester ballots
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The gist
Federal prosecutors gave California counties 48 hours to sequester ballots of voters they suspect are noncitizens.
A 9th Circuit panel hears Sunday whether the state must comply.
Background
The letters come from the Justice Department of President Donald Trump's administration and were signed by Bilal (Bill) Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney. They are the latest escalation in a legal battle between Democratic-dominated California and the federal government ahead of the midterms, and follow a federal lawsuit filed roughly three weeks before the elections seeking to bar the state from counting mail-in ballots from people identified as likely noncitizens. It is illegal for noncitizens to register to vote or cast a ballot. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and state lawyers say the federal data is unreliable and unverified.
How it unfolded
- Oct 15, 2026The federal government sued California, roughly three weeks before elections, asking a judge to bar the state from counting mail-in ballots from people it identified as likely noncitizens.
- Oct 19, 2026The DOJ announced it had charged 28 people with voter fraud; 23 were accused of voting illegally, allegedly casting 34 illegal ballots in elections dating back to 2020.
- Oct 21, 2026A federal judge ruled the Department of Homeland Security cannot conduct election-related field operations and interviews in nine states, saying its data is flawed.
- Oct 23, 2026Federal prosecutors sent county registrars letters demanding they sequester ballots sent to voters suspected of not being U.S. citizens, with a 48-hour deadline; the letters sought sensitive information including Social Security numbers on roughly 20,000 voters.
- Oct 23, 2026Two uniformed Department of Homeland Security officers delivered a letter to Napa County's registrar listing 42 people accused of being noncitizens illegally registered to vote.
- Oct 23, 2026The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on the lawsuit, setting a deadline for Saturday.
- Oct 24, 2026Election officials said they had already started counting ballots from the state's 23 million registered voters; at least 18 counties had received letters, and NBC News reported they went to 57 of California's 58 counties.
- Oct 25, 2026A panel of 9th Circuit appeals court judges will hear arguments on Sunday about whether California can be compelled to comply with the federal demands.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said counties should segregate, not cancel, the ballots until citizenship status is determined, and that any official knowingly processing a noncitizen's ballot is opening themselves to legal jeopardy.
- Official
- Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said even one noncitizen vote cancels out the ballot of an American citizen.
- Caution
- Napa County registrar John Tuteur said the demands are meant to raise huge doubts about the election's integrity, adding that his office is not changing anything and is proceeding with the election.
- Caution
- Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder Kristin B. Connelley said the county is doing nothing wrong and is following state and federal election law and both constitutions, and that voters need to vote and not be intimidated.
- Official
- California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the federal government has not clarified the basis for suspecting the listed individuals are noncitizens.
- Analysts
- Election law experts called the lawsuit baffling and unlikely to succeed.
Still unverified
California's secretary of state and state lawyers argue the federal government's data is unreliable and unverified; the California attorney general's office said the letters contained errors, citing Mendocino County receiving a list of people who were not residents there.