by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News October 15, 2026

The Department of Justice on Thursday filed a lawsuit against California over the state’s failure to review whether noncitizens are on its voter rolls.

The lawsuit was filed after the Justice Department’s 48-hour time limit for California to review its voter rolls for ineligible voters expired.

The Justice Department had demanded California voting officials access a password-protected thumb drive that it said contained thousands of names of potential noncitizens believed to be on the state’s voter registration list.

Letters from acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter were sent to the Los Angeles County Clerk and California Secretary of State on Tuesday, and gave a two-day deadline for the officials to confirm they were conducting a review and also moving to segregate any potential ballots that may have been returned from individuals whose names were on the thumb drive.

In the lawsuit filed on Thursday, the Justice Department contends that it is not requesting a “purge” of the state’s voter rolls or to cancel votes, and instead is asking a judge to compel the state to set aside ballots that are from individuals on its list of alleged “likely” noncitizens.

The lawsuit was filed by senior officials in the deputy attorney general’s office and hinges on the federal supremacy clause, arguing that the DOJ has an obligation to intervene to prevent the state from permitting noncitizens to vote in federal elections.

In July, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin alleged that more than 190,000 voters were erroneously registered in California, a claim state officials disputed.

ICE investigators, FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors have dedicated significant resources to ramp up the number of cases and charges against illegal voting, with about 1,600 ongoing cases as of mid-September.

Freedom Rocks! Until It Is Gone

  Times up: DOJ sues California for refusing to review if noncitizens are on voter rolls, WorldTribune.com