A federal judge in Los Angeles is weighing a Justice Department demand to halt the counting of mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters in California whom federal authorities allege are likely noncitizens, Reuters reported on October 27, 2026. US District Judge David Carter heard arguments on the temporary restraining order request as the November 3 midterm elections loom.
The Federal Escalation and California’s Defense
President Donald Trump’s push to expand federal oversight of elections ahead of the midterms—while his Republican Party fights intensely to maintain its majorities in both chambers of Congress—is highlighted by an October 15 Justice Department lawsuit. Federal lawyers are pressing for emergency judicial action just weeks before voters decide races in the nation’s most populous state.
California holds 52 seats in the House of Representatives, more than any other state. Anne Bellows, a lawyer representing California, told the court that the federal government’s assertions rely on “mysterious database methods.” She warned that rushing to comply with the demand risks disenfranchising eligible voters who happen to have been incorrectly flagged.
“The Supreme Court has reiterated time and again that, as an election is close at hand, federal courts should not interfere to change the rules under which that election is held,” Bellows argued during the hearing. “This applies with even more force when the election is ongoing.”
Disputing Noncitizen Voting Claims
Seeking to protect election integrity, Justice Department lawyer Bilal Essayli argued that the federal government had put forward a very specific petition. Essayli asked Judge Carter for a swift ruling at the conclusion of the hearing, which remained ongoing.
DOJ’s California noncitizen voting case was just yanked from a Trump-appointed judge and handed to a Clinton-appointed critic of the DOJ and Trump.The Justice Department sued California to stop the state from counting roughly 20,000 mail ballots from people federal authorities… https://t.co/16eQu3Bh5E pic.twitter.com/xfQYHGwWTb
The legal clash underscores a broader conflict over federal oversight versus state authority. Under the US Constitution, states administer their own elections, though the federal government has some oversight role. California reported having 23 million registered voters on its rolls as of December 2025.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused California of failing to stop noncitizen voting, pointing to the state’s “sanctuary state” policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. However, multiple state audits and independent studies have shown that voting by noncitizens is rare.
Parallel Legal Battles Across Western States
The California showdown is part of a push by the Justice Department targeting voter rolls ahead of the midterms. Just a day prior to the Los Angeles hearing, a federal appeals court rejected an unusual emergency request by federal lawyers seeking to temporarily block California from counting ballots before Judge Carter could issue his ruling.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has intervened in competitive races in two other states. In Alaska, federal lawyers asked a judge last week to block the certification of election results if the Republican incumbent senator loses by a narrow margin, citing potential voter confusion over a candidate with a similar name. Alaska officials have urged the court to throw out the case.
In Washington state, the Justice Department sent a letter on Monday demanding that officials refrain from counting ballots received from 400 voters flagged as possible noncitizens. Washington’s top elections official dismissed the timing as an attempt to cast unfounded suspicion on election outcomes in a state with 5 million registered voters.
As Judge Carter weighs whether to bar the counting of the disputed ballots in California, the precise number of the 20,000 flagged individuals who have already cast mail-in ballots remains unstated by federal authorities. Voting rights advocates continue to raise concerns that federal database checks may sweep up naturalized citizens.
