(California Globe) The United States Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against California Thursday October 15, 2026, seeking an order to sequester, and not tabulate, vote-by-mail ballots from roughly 20,000 people the federal government identifies as “likely noncitizens."
This follows Oct. 13 letters, to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan, by acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, who provided officials in Los Angeles County with a “password-protected thumb drive” with the names of people the federal government “believes are likely noncitizens” and were sent mail-in ballots from California.
“For individuals whom you cannot independently confirm citizenship status, we request that you immediately instruct the appropriate elections official to segregate — not cancel — those individuals’ vote-by-mail ballots until their citizenship status can be determined,” McCotter wrote.