California rejected DOJ’s ‘outrageous’ demand to vet thousands of alleged noncitizens on voter rolls

California immediately rejected the Department of Justice’s demand that California withhold ballots from 20,000 alleged noncitizens, calling it illegal and a violation of voters’ rights.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber dismissed the request in a letter to Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. The DOJ on Thursday sued California for refusing to comply.

“I will not disenfranchise thousands of Californians—or order any county elections official to do so—based solely upon an unsupported and likely inaccurate ‘belie[f]’ that certain voters are ‘likely’ noncitizens,” Weber wrote in her letter.

Weber told McCotter prior to the lawsuit that this kind of intervention less than 20 days before Election Day is illegal.

“The extraordinary measures you demand are contrary to both federal and state law. Most critically, they strike at affected voters’ ‘constitutionally protected right to vote . . . and to have their vote counted,’” Weber wrote, quoting a 1964 Supreme Court decision. 

“Withholding ballots from some duly registered voters and segregating and refusing to tabulate voted ballots submitted by others, is an unprecedented suspension—and even denial—of voting rights,” she said. 

She continued, “California’s election administration will continue to be governed by applicable federal and state law, not by unsubstantiated claims and outrageous demands.”

Weber added the DOJ had not provided enough information about the 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters to be of any “investigative use.” Additionally, the DOJ did not provide any methodology for flagging those names. The 20,000 alleged noncitizens are far fewer than the 190,000 that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had previously claimed.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also decried the DOJ’s request on the social media platform X, calling it a “sad and desperate” attempt by the Trump administration to suppress votes in California three weeks before Election Day. 

“We will defend free and fair elections in the Golden State and call out every authoritarian attempt to undermine our democracy,” Newsom wrote.