Justice Department warns California officials to verify alleged non-citizen voters within 48 hours

The Justice Department issued a letter to Los Angeles County election officials demanding that they review a list of individuals it believes may be non-citizens and that have received mail-in ballots. The letter, signed by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, gave the officials 48 hours to act and warned that the department would seek emergency relief if the steps were not taken.

McCotter said the department provided a password-protected thumb drive containing the names and asked the county to work with the Department of Homeland Security to confirm citizenship status before any ballots are sent. The request also included a directive to segregate ballots for the listed voters until their status is verified.

The California Secretary of State’s office and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office did not immediately respond to inquiries about the demand. Legal experts note that while the Constitution assigns states primary responsibility for running elections, the federal government may impose certain regulations.

"Federal law is clear: only American citizens may vote in federal elections. The Department will take all necessary legal action to protect election integrity and ensure compliance with federal law," DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels said.

The Justice Department’s push follows earlier letters warning officials of prosecution for failing to remove non-citizens from voter rolls, a threat that state officials of both parties previously dismissed. Critics point out that California mailed ballots to all registered voters on Oct. 5, raising questions about the timing of the request.

The administration has previously claimed that hundreds of thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote nationwide, a figure that has been challenged in several states. In Nevada, for example, an initial estimate of 15,900 non-citizen registrants was later reduced to 185 after manual review, and state officials subsequently reported that all 185 were citizens, a conclusion the Department of Homeland Security disputes.

The Justice Department has also sued multiple states for voter-roll data, losing every case that has proceeded to a judge so far, including in California. Other federal attempts to influence state election procedures, such as a directive to the Postal Service to screen mail ballots and a 2025 executive order on proof-of-citizenship requirements, have been blocked by courts.