Trump administration sues California over noncitizens on voter rolls

What the report says

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against California over its handling of a federal request to review voter rolls for alleged noncitizens, escalating a dispute that comes just weeks before the midterm elections. According to Al Jazeera, the Justice Department said California failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to examine a list the department said contained about 20,000 names and asked a federal court to stop the state from counting mail-in ballots from people on that list.

California election officials rejected the demand, saying the state was being pressed to take extraordinary steps based on information it had not been given in a verifiable form. Secretary of State Shirley Weber said her office had not received the list directly and argued that voter removals must rely on confirmable evidence. Los Angeles County officials, who received a federal letter, also said they would not open a thumb drive sent with the warning because they did not consider it secure.

Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the lawsuit as an attempt to suppress voters shortly before Election Day. The dispute fits a broader pattern: Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed that large numbers of noncitizens vote in Democratic-led states, while election officials and courts have said the problem is rare and that states control election administration.

The article also notes that recent court rulings have limited parts of the administration’s broader effort to challenge noncitizen voting and mail-in ballot procedures, adding legal pressure to a campaign issue that has become increasingly contentious.