DOJ threatens legal action against California over alleged noncitizen voters

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is threatening legal action against California unless state and local officials review a list of potential noncitizen individuals on their voter rolls. Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter on Tuesday sent letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan with a list of names of possible noncitizens identified by the federal government. The letters demand they review the list by noon on Thursday. “Allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes,” McCotter wrote in the letters, which was obtained by NBC News. McCotter wrote that the DOJ provided a password-protected thumb drive with a list of individuals the federal government “believes are likely noncitizens who were sent a vote-by-mail ballot” for the 2026 election.

He asked that county election officials “segregate — not cancel — those individuals’ vote-by-mail ballots” until their citizenship status was determined. “This should not be controversial, as the criminal statute is clear: only American citizens may vote in federal elections,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement. “It is a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections, and the DOJ is asking California to ensure that is not occurring.” Reuters first reported on the letters. Justin Levitt, an NBC News contributor who was a Justice Department official during the Obama administration,