DOJ sues California and L.A. County's registrar over 20,000 'likely noncitizen' voters; Logan says ballots won't be withheld on unverified claims

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The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C.

DOJ sues California and L.A. County's registrar over 20,000 'likely noncitizen' voters; Logan says ballots won't be withheld on unverified claims

The fight began with an Oct. 13 letter and a password-protected thumb drive. State officials call the demands meritless; federal officials say California is allowing unlawful voting.

By Alberto Zamudio | The Southbound 105 | Oct. 17, 2026

The U.S. Justice Department has sued the State of California over its voter rolls, alleging that more than 20,000 people who are "likely aliens" are registered to vote, less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 election, according to a DOJ news release. The suit, filed Thursday, Oct. 15, names the state, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The federal government has not publicly released the evidence or methodology behind its list. L.A. County and state officials say they will keep following existing election law.

How it started

On the afternoon of Oct. 13, Logan's office received a letter from the Justice Department, along with a USB drive and a handwritten note with a password, according to Logan's statement that day. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter's letter demanded that the county investigate thousands of voters the administration calls "likely noncitizens" and withhold their ballots in the meantime, the Times reported.

Logan said his office did not open the drive because doing so would conflict with data privacy and security protocols. Any action to remove a voter from eligibility "must be based on verifiable information," he said.

DOJ then sent an Excel spreadsheet listing about 20,000 voters by name, birth date and address, the Times reported. In a statement Oct. 15, Logan said the list "referenced individuals throughout California, not specifically in Los Angeles County."

What DOJ alleges

In its release, DOJ said it worked with the Department of Homeland Security, which compared publicly available California voter files with federal immigration data. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called it a "preliminary analysis" and said the review remains ongoing.

"The law is clear, aliens in the United States cannot vote in federal elections," McCotter said. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California, whose office is leading the case, said state officials "refused" to remove the voters or sequester their ballots.

A DOJ spokesperson told the Times the 20,000 are people who "have been manually verified" and that the number "can and will go up." On Friday, the department warned county attorneys in a letter that officials who count ballots from flagged voters could face prosecution as "aiders and abettors to a federal crime," the Times reported.

What California and L.A. County say

Logan said the county formally answered DOJ's letter the morning of Oct. 15, before the suit was filed. "We cannot withhold or refuse to count ballots based solely on unverified allegations," he said, adding that election rules "cannot be arbitrarily changed midway through an election."

In a letter quoted by the Times, Weber said she would review any evidence DOJ provides, but "will not disenfranchise thousands of Californians" based on an unsupported belief that they are likely noncitizens.

Attorney General Rob Bonta called the demands "meritless" in a post on X and noted that Mullin had suggested in July the state had about 190,000 noncitizen voters. "What happened to the 170,000?" Bonta said, according to the Times. Gov. Gavin Newsom called it "more dangerous nonsense."

David Becker of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research told the Times federal law bars systematic voter-list maintenance within 90 days of a federal election, and that the administration's numbers "should be treated with serious skepticism."

What it means for L.A. County voters

Mail ballots have already gone out to registered voters, and voting is underway. Logan's office says it will keep processing ballots under existing state and federal law. A registrar's spokesperson said Friday the office was still reviewing the spreadsheet, in part to see how many listed voters are in L.A. County, the Times reported.

  • Monday, Oct. 19: the regular deadline to register and have a ballot mailed to you for the Nov. 3 election. Eligible residents can still register and vote in person after that through conditional voter registration.
  • Check your status: voters can confirm their registration with the county registrar at lavote.gov.
  • Nov. 3: Election Day.

The case is pending in federal court.

Want more local news? Read more at The Southbound 105.

Cover photo: APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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