DOJ Gives California 48 Hours To Fix Voter Roll Mess

The Justice Department just gave California 48 hours to check a list of possible noncitizens on voter rolls. If the state misses it, federal officials say they will seek emergency relief. This is not a request. It is a strict order to protect the right to vote for citizens.

Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney Trent McCotter sent the letter to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. He warned that the state must confirm if any people on the list got mail-in ballots for the November 3 election. The federal government provided Los Angeles County with a list of names. They want to know if noncitizens voted. The stakes are high for the upcoming election.

The Federal Ultimatum

The Justice Department says the law is clear. Only citizens can vote in federal elections. “This should not be controversial, as the criminal statute is clear: only American citizens may vote in federal elections,” DOJ spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said in a statement, according to the Daily Wire. The department will not back down. They are ready to take legal action if needed.

According to reports, the deadline falls at noon Eastern time on Thursday, October 15. He demanded officials stop sending ballots to listed people until their status is clear. He also said officials must set aside ballots from people whose citizenship could not be confirmed. The pressure is on. The federal government wants answers now.

The federal government says allowing noncitizens to vote cancels citizen votes. This is the core issue. Trent McCotter wrote, “If you cannot implement this process by then, given the ongoing federal election, the United States will have no choice but to seek emergency relief,” the letter states, according to Fox News. The state must act fast or face court.

California Pushes Back

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber pushed back hard. She said the federal claims have no proof. “Now the USDOJ, under threat of ’emergency’ litigation, demands that California blindly trust this administration without any evidence or legal authority to justify its request,” she continued. She claims the data is shaky. She says the feds refused to share their methods.

Weber observed that during July, President Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullen asserted claims regarding 190,000 noncitizens on voter rolls. She called these claims unsubstantiated. She said the state asked for data sources but got nothing. The state feels the federal demands are chaotic. They say it fuels public distrust.

The state argues it has strong laws to keep noncitizens off the rolls. Weber said her office is committed to a fair election. But the federal government says the state is not doing enough. The clash is over who controls the voter lists. The federal government says they have the right to intervene.

This fight is part of a bigger push by the Trump administration. They want to remove noncitizens from voter lists across the country. Federal officials have accused hundreds of thousands of noncitizens of being registered. But these claims face scrutiny over data accuracy. The administration says they must act to protect election integrity.