Trump administration sues California over alleged noncitizens on the state's voter rolls

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration sued California election officials Thursday, asking a judge to bar the state from counting mail-in ballots for next month's midterm elections from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their status can be confirmed.

The lawsuit comes after a top Justice Department official warned California in a letter of possible legal action if the state did not review a password-protected thumb drive that contains a list of names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election. The state mails ballots to all registered voters.

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said in a statement that his office received the letter and thumb drive this week, along with a “hand written note providing a password” to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls. He said he did not consider the thumb drive a secure device. The secretary of state’s office said the password was written “on a sticky note."

The Justice Department's lawsuit says the federal government sought to “work collaboratively” with California to identify noncitizens registered to vote in the state, and “California made no serious effort to do so.”

"The United States thus seeks commonplace election relief when a ballot is called into question. This Court should enjoin California from presently tabulating vote by-mail ballots from likely noncitizens in the upcoming federal election until the voter’s citizenship status can be determined," the lawsuit says.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the secretary of state's office suggested the federal government's outreach had not been collaborative.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat who also is named in the lawsuit, said that over the summer, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that California had 190,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls but refused to provide the methodology or data sources when the office asked for them.

Her office and the office of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on Thursday. In a social media post Wednesday, Newsom called the Trump administration's request “more dangerous nonsense from a President losing his grip on reality.”

"California’s elections are NOT Donald Trump’s to control. We will ensure EVERY California voter can participate in a free and fair election," Newsom wrote.

The Trump administration has made the hunt for noncitizen voters a priority this year, even though the problem is exceptionally rare. The Justice Department has charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens . There were more than 227 million registered voters in the United States during the 2024 presidential election.

Austin reported from Sacramento, California.