The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered California officials to review a list of individuals the federal government believes may have received mail-in ballots despite not being U.S. citizens, according to multiple reports.
Key Takeaways
The Justice Department ordered California to review a list of potential noncitizen voters and segregate their ballots until citizenship is confirmed. The federal government provided the list on a password-protected thumb drive.
- DOJ gave California 48 hours to review the list or face legal action
- The letter demands segregation of ballots from individuals on the list
- Justice Department has lost 26 out of 31 lawsuits filed against states for voter rolls data
- Experts say incidents of voter fraud are minimal and unlikely to impact election outcomes
⚖
▼Source Claims Check
1 Difference FoundAll 3 publishers report consistent facts across 4 key claims. 1 point of difference noted.
| Claim | Status | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number Of Noncitizens On Voter Rolls | 1 Difference | CBS News and TimesLIVE report more than 30,000 noncitizens added to voter rolls; HuffPost reports unclear number of ballots cast by noncitizens | ▼ |
| List Of Noncitizens | Broad Agreement | DOJ provided list on password-protected thumb drive | |
| Deadline To Review List | Broad Agreement | 48-hour deadline to review the list of names | |
| Segregation Of Ballots | Broad Agreement | Ballots from individuals on the list should be segregated until citizenship is confirmed | |
| Impact Of Voter Fraud | Broad Agreement | Experts say incidents of voter fraud are minimal and unlikely to impact election outcomes |
Number Of Noncitizens On Voter Rolls
▼CBS News and TimesLIVE report more than 30,000 noncitizens added to voter rolls; HuffPost reports unclear number of ballots cast by noncitizens
List Of Noncitizens
Broad AgreementDOJ provided list on password-protected thumb drive
Deadline To Review List
Broad Agreement48-hour deadline to review the list of names
Segregation Of Ballots
Broad AgreementBallots from individuals on the list should be segregated until citizenship is confirmed
Impact Of Voter Fraud
Broad AgreementExperts say incidents of voter fraud are minimal and unlikely to impact election outcomes
This analysis is AI-generated and may not perfectly represent each source's reporting. Always read the original articles for full context.
In an Oct. 13 letter reviewed by CBS News and Reuters, acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter gave California a 48-hour deadline to review the list of names provided on a password-protected thumb drive. The letter demands that the state segregate ballots from individuals whose citizenship status cannot be confirmed.
McCotter wrote in the letter, 'For individuals whom you cannot independently confirm citizenship status, we request that you immediately instruct the appropriate elections official to segregate — not cancel — those individuals' vote-by-mail ballots until their citizenship status can be determined.' The letter also instructed officials to take immediate steps to prevent sending ballots to individuals on the list whose ballots have not yet been sent.
The letter was sent to the Los Angeles County clerk's office, with similar letters being mailed out to other counties in the state. This action comes after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin informed California officials in July that the federal government believed there were noncitizens listed on its voter rolls.
The DOJ has been actively pursuing efforts to ensure states maintain clean voter lists, filing 31 lawsuits against states for unredacted copies of their voter rolls. However, the department has lost 26 of those cases and has not achieved one legal victory to date. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division sent letters to all 50 states in July threatening criminal action if they knowingly allowed noncitizens to remain on their voter rolls.
Experts have repeatedly found that incidents of voter fraud are minimal and unlikely to impact the outcome of an election. A data analysis published by Reuters found that states may have added more than 30,000 self-declared noncitizens to voter rolls since 2000 due to software glitches and clerical errors. However, this figure is small relative to the number of registered voters.
How this summary was created
This summary synthesizes reporting from 3 independent publishers using AI. All sources are cited and linked below. NewsBalance is a news aggregator and media literacy tool, not a news publisher. AI-generated content may contain errors or inaccuracies — always verify important information with the original sources.