California officials challenge DOJ's non-citizen voter list of 20,000

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked California to separate ballots for about 20,000 voters it says are “likely” non‑citizens, but a first look by Los Angeles County officials suggests the list is unreliable and includes many people who were born in the United States. The request comes as the state prepares for the June 2 primary, and the DOJ’s demand could force a massive, unprecedented ballot‑sorting operation just weeks before voters cast their votes.

The dispute began last week when the Justice Department delivered a thumb drive to Los Angeles County containing the names of roughly 20,000 registered voters identified by Homeland Security investigators as probable non‑citizens. County officials initially refused to plug the drive into a government computer, citing security concerns, and the DOJ later sent the same data in a spreadsheet. The federal government has filed a lawsuit to compel California to investigate the names before any votes are counted, arguing that the state must enforce election‑law rules that bar non‑citizens from voting.

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said only 7,035 of the names have addresses in the county, and many appear to be duplicates. County staff took a random sample of 200 entries to gauge the data’s accuracy. Monica Flores, the assistant registrar‑recorder, reported that 38.9 % of the sampled voters listed a U.S. birthplace, a strong indicator of citizenship. The review is still preliminary, but Flores called the “October List” unreliable. California’s Secretary of State requires a place‑of‑birth field on online voter‑registration forms, though it is not mandatory, which may explain some of the inconsistencies.

The state argues that complying with the DOJ’s demand would be unfeasible so close to the election and could violate both federal and state election statutes. In its court filing, California called the litigation “a reckless political stunt” that risks disenfranchising thousands of voters. The court will decide whether the federal government can force the ballot‑segregation process to move forward. If the judge sides with the DOJ, counties may have to scramble to verify citizenship for tens of thousands of voters, a move that could delay results and spark further legal challenges. If the request is rejected, the case could set a precedent limiting federal attempts to intervene in state voter‑registration data ahead of elections.