Every Side · 2026-10-16

The Justice Department sues California over mail ballots

From Level Headlines Ep. 3 (Oct. 16, 2026): the Justice Department asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to keep about 20,000 mail ballots from being counted until those voters' citizenship is checked. As of the episode, no judge had ruled.

Just the facts

The Justice Department sued the State of California, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County registrar Dean Logan in federal court in Los Angeles (C.D. Cal. No. 2:26-cv-12025).
According to the complaint, federal immigration agencies matched state voter rolls against federal records and identified more than 20,000 registered voters they call "likely noncitizens."
The suit asks a judge to order California to set aside mail ballots from people on that list and verify their citizenship before counting them. California mailed ballots to every registered voter starting Oct. 1.
The suit came two days after Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter gave state and county officials 48 hours to review the list.
California officials say the federal government hasn't shown how it built the list. Logan said his office "cannot withhold or refuse to count ballots based solely on unverified allegations."
Federal law makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. The government had not publicly shown that anyone on the list cast a ballot.

How it's being covered

Left

Los Angeles Times (opens in new tab)
Reported that experts called the suit highly unusual with voting underway, noted the lawsuit doesn't explain the drop from an earlier suggestion of more than 190,000 noncitizens to about 20,000, and quoted Gov. Newsom and Attorney General Bonta criticizing it.
The Guardian (opens in new tab)
Described the 48-hour demand as a very narrow window and highlighted Weber's point that a similar federal list in Nevada produced no confirmed noncitizen voters.

Center

AP (opens in new tab)
Stuck to the core facts: the government wants ballots set aside until voters' status is confirmed, and the state says no evidence or method was provided.
CBS News (opens in new tab)
Covered the filing and the state's response, noting ballots are already in voters' hands.
CNBC (opens in new tab)
Reported the request to hold ballots and California's objection to the list.

Right

Fox News (opens in new tab)
Focused on the 48-hour deadline and quoted a Justice Department spokesperson that only American citizens may vote in federal elections; also noted DOJ hasn't established that anyone on the list voted illegally.
The Daily Caller (opens in new tab)
Led with the federal finding of likely noncitizens on the rolls, quoted DHS Secretary Mullin, and reported the complaint's claim that California is lax about checking ballot signatures.
Washington Examiner (opens in new tab)
Headlined the state declining to review the list.

Outlet labels follow our source-rating method. Summaries are in our own words.

What we don't know yet

How the judge will rule on the request to hold ballots, and how fast.
How the federal list was built and how many matches are accurate.
Whether anyone on the list actually cast a ballot.
The outcome of a separate emergency request in Washington, D.C., by a voting-rights group.