Trump DOJ Escalates Clash with California Over Alleged Noncitizen Voters, Threatening Criminal Liability Ahead of Midterms

The Trump administration has intensified its efforts to address potential noncitizen voting in California, sending a Justice Department letter warning election officials of significant legal consequences, including possible criminal liability under federal statutes, if they tabulate ballots from individuals identified by federal agencies as likely noncitizens. This follows a lawsuit filed against the state and Los Angeles County seeking to prevent the counting of mail-in ballots from approximately 20,000 such individuals until citizenship can be verified. President Trump amplified the letter on Truth Social, stating officials 'will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!'

The DOJ letter, signed by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, cites 18 U.S.C. § 611 prohibiting noncitizen voting in federal elections and 18 U.S.C. § 2 on aiding and abetting, arguing that officials with actual notice cannot rely solely on California's self-attestation system. The administration provided a password-protected USB drive with the list of names from DHS data earlier in the week, giving officials 48 hours to review it. California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, have pushed back, calling the actions a 'sad, desperate attempt' to suppress voters and questioning the data's accuracy and methodology.

This episode builds on broader administration initiatives to verify voter rolls nationwide, with past claims of large-scale noncitizen registration facing scrutiny in other states like Nevada, where similar lists yielded no confirmed noncitizens. Legal experts note potential conflicts with state procedures and the National Voter Registration Act's timing restrictions, while outside groups like the UCLA Voting Rights Project have signaled challenges. The dispute unfolds weeks before the November 3, 2026, midterms, highlighting tensions between federal enforcement priorities and state election administration autonomy.