Over 40% of DOJ's Noncitizen Voter List Not on California Rolls - Sing Tao Daily

The Trump administration previously pressured California election officials to set aside more than 20,000 ballots suspected of being cast by noncitizens.

However, a new legal filing submitted by immigrant rights organizations shows that more than 40% of the names on the Justice Department's list are not on California's voter rolls at all, and thousands of U.S. citizens were mistakenly flagged as ineligible voters.

Key points of this article: · Key entities: U.S.

Department of Justice, UCLA Voting Rights Project, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) · Key data: Of the 20,930 names on the DOJ list, 8,880 (42%) are not on California's voter rolls; at least 22 are confirmed U.S. citizens · Point of dispute: The Trump administration alleges widespread noncitizen voting in California, but its list is said to be riddled with errors · Legal developments: A federal judge ordered the DOJ to stop sending demands to state officials, and the Trump administration has appealed.

List Riddled with Errors, Risk of Disenfranchising Citizens.

The analysis, conducted by two data analysts with the UCLA Voting Rights Project, is the first outside review of the list the Justice Department used to threaten election officials with prosecution.

The findings are startling: of the 20,930 names the Justice Department asked California election officials to set aside during vote counting, 8,880 (42%) do not match California's current voter files.

In addition, at least 22 people on the list are U.S. citizens, and more may also be confirmed citizens. "Expert analysis further shows that this mandatory voter list endangers a large number of eligible California voters," states the filing, which was co-signed by Xavier Becerra, a Democratic candidate for California governor and an adviser to the UCLA Voting Rights Project.

Researchers also found that the government appeared to have removed voter identification numbers from the list, making it harder for election officials to determine whether a flagged individual is already on the rolls or is a duplicate on the Justice Department's list.

Trump Administration Fires Back, Calls Report 'False'.

The Trump administration had opposed sharing the list, saying it contained sensitive information.

On Saturday, Bill Essayli, the Los Angeles federal prosecutor leading the case, pushed back on X, calling the analysis a "false report from the radical illegal immigrant rights organization CHIRLA." The same day, President Trump complained on social media about the court's ruling, claiming his Justice Department had found "20,000, or maybe hundreds of thousands, or even millions" of fraudulent ballots, "and the court just ruled against it.

Why would they refuse to correct election fraud?" In addition to California, the Trump administration has also urged Washington state to remove 400 possible noncitizens from its rolls, even though the state's election officials say that list is equally unreliable.

Election Officials: No Time to Investigate.

Election officials complain that the Trump administration provided the lists at the last minute before Election Day, leaving them no time to conduct the careful investigation required by law.

On Friday, a federal judge in California ordered the Justice Department to stop sending demands to state officials, and the Trump administration appealed on Saturday.

Previously, several counties in the state conducted quick checks of Trump's list and found numerous errors.

Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten V.

Pels argued in an email: "Every ballot cast by an ineligible voter cancels out the ballot of a U.S. citizen.

The Justice Department makes no apologies for protecting those ballots." Source: Associated Press.

Cover image source: (File photo) June 3, 2026, at the Los Angeles County ballot processing center in the City of Industry, California, ballots are being sorted the day after the California primary.

Associated Press