DOJ orders California to verify likely noncitizen mail‑in ballots within 48 hours
The U.S. Department of Justice sent letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar‑Recorder Dean Logan on October 13, ordering them to review a list of people identified as likely noncitizens who received mail‑in ballots for the November 3 federal election.
The letters, obtained by the Washington Examiner, included a password‑protected thumb drive containing the names. DOJ officials gave Weber and Logan 48 hours to verify whether each listed individual is a U.S. citizen. If the states cannot confirm citizenship independently, the letters instruct them to contact the precincts that sent the ballots and to keep those ballots “segregated” until status is established, and to intercept any ballots that have not yet been returned.
A DOJ spokesperson said the request is “not controversial, as the criminal statute is clear: only American citizens may vote in federal elections.” The department warned that failure to act within the deadline could lead to “emergency relief” from the federal courts.
The demand follows a July notice from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who warned that “likely numerous noncitizens” are registered in California’s automatic vote‑by‑mail system. Mullin asked Weber to verify the claim “to prevent noncitizen votes from diluting citizen votes.” DOJ officials estimate that “thousands” of potential noncitizens have been sent ballots.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who authored the letters, has previously criticized California’s vote‑counting procedures, alleging the state has blocked federal audits of voter rolls. The letters arrived as California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has signed a suite of election‑related bills aimed at limiting law‑enforcement interference with ballots and expanding voter access, including new felony penalties for the seizure of ballots.
Weber and Logan have not yet publicly responded to the request. Both parties face a tight window to either confirm citizenship for the listed voters or to implement the segregation and interception procedures mandated by the DOJ. The outcome could shape how millions of California mail‑in ballots are processed ahead of the November election and may spark further legal confrontation between federal and state election authorities.
