President Donald Trump gestures during a reception for Republican members of Congress in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson.)
The U.S. Department of Justice sued California on Thursday after state officials declined to review a list of people the Trump administration believes are “likely noncitizens who were sent a vote-by-mail ballot.”
In a 15-page complaint, the DOJ alleges that California and its leading election officials violated the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause by “knowingly” sending ballots to likely noncitizens and ultimately counting those votes in violation of federal law.
The complaint says agencies within the Department of Homeland Security conducted an extensive review of voter-registration records and federal data, identifying thousands of likely noncitizens registered to vote in California who would automatically receive federal ballots under state law.
According to the lawsuit, California is “knowingly” enabling “unlawful voting” by sending registered voters ballots that “do not bifurcate between state, local, and federal elections.”
The DOJ maintains that many of the people on the voter rolls are likely noncitizens.
“The State knows that noncitizens might be registered to vote, and it knows the names of such individuals,” the complaint states. “But it still intends to count their vote without verifying the voter’s citizenship.”
The government says U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services initially compiled a list of potential noncitizens registered to vote in California. The agency then worked with Homeland Security Investigations to produce a final list of “around 20,000 noncitizens…registered to vote.”
As a result, the lawsuit says, nearly 20,000 noncitizens in California have been—or will be—sent vote-by-mail ballots for participation in the federal election under state law. Many of the listed addresses are in Los Angeles County, according to the filing.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration gave its findings to California officials and “reiterated this serious concern with exacting details,” the complaint says. The Justice Department also asked the state to take specific steps.
The filing describes the federal government’s request as follows:
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The Federal Government asked California to review the list and, in partnership with federal agencies, to determine whether citizens were listed. If California was unable to independently confirm the citizenship of people on that list, the Federal Government asked that California set aside ballots received from them until the person’s citizenship was confirmed. Given the time sensitivity of the impending election, the Federal Government asked California to conduct its review by today at noon.
The complaint says California declined to cooperate.
Instead, a Los Angeles election official issued a statement saying the county had “rejected an encrypted thumb drive from a federal agent that identified likely noncitizen voters,” according to the lawsuit.
The federal government argues that the decision reflects “a total lack of commitment” to working to “protect the integrity of our elections.”
The DOJ contends that federal law preempts California from sending and counting vote-by-mail ballots without verifying citizenship after federal officials have identified voters who are believed to be noncitizens.
The Justice Department is seeking injunctive relief.
“The United States thus seeks commonplace election relief when a ballot is called into question,” the complaint states. “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 also outlines the specific order the DOJ wants the court to issue:
To do so, this Court should order California (1) to set aside vote-by-mail ballots from persons identified by the Federal Government likely to be noncitizens and (2) to independently—or in collaboration with the Federal Government—verify their citizenship status (beyond relying on unverified statements of citizenship necessary to registering) before tabulating their vote-by-mail ballot. The United States seeks this relief to prevent unlawful dilution of American citizens’ votes and to protect the integrity of our elections.
In response, California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the lawsuit “a sad, desperate attempt” by Trump to suppress votes.
The post DOJ accuses California of ‘knowingly’ facilitating ‘unlawful voting’ after state declines to review list of 20,000 noncitizens allegedly sent vote-by-mail ballots first appeared on Law & Crime.