DOJ sues California after pushing state to match voter list with USB drive

The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the state of California on Thursday after giving it a USB drive and demanding that within 48 hours it compare its data rolls with information provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The DOJ sent the letter to the state and local election officials Tuesday, threatening legal action if they did not cross reference the data. According to a copy of the letter provided by Los Angeles County, the letter included a handwritten password to access the files on the thumb drive.

In its suit, the DOJ said it “sent relevant California officials a list of over 20,000 names of people the Federal Government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent a vote-by-mail ballot from California to participate in the federal election.”

“If California was unable to independently confirm the citizenship of people on that list, the Federal Government asked that California set aside ballots received from them until the person’s citizenship was confirmed.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) criticized the suit, noting that the request runs afoul of voting procedures.

“Trump is now demanding that California election officials VIOLATE federal law,” he wrote on the social platform X.

“California’s elections are NOT Donald Trump’s to control. We will ensure EVERY California voter can participate in a free and fair election.”

The request surprised election officials, as the midterms are just three weeks away, and absentee ballots have already been distributed.

Election officials also have specific procedures they must follow before culling a voter from registration lists or setting aside any ballots.

The DHS in July accused California of having as many as 190,000 noncitizens voters on file, yet it also said a preliminary review found just 81,000 potential registrants.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D), who is listed in the suit, wrote in a Thursday letter that the Trump administration had only listed “individuals that the federal government ‘believes’ are ‘likely’ non-citizens.”

Weber said she informed the government at the time that the law prohibits any voter cancellations after Aug. 5 and asked the Trump administration to explain its figures.

“In response, DHS officials refused to provide any information in writing and requested a call. When my office asked for the information in writing to ensure an accurate record, DHS officials insisted on a meeting and declined to address our concerns on paper. To date, DHS still has not provided any information about the underlying data or methodology requested by my office,” she wrote.

“Despite failing to send the list of alleged non-citizens to my office, you demand that we request transmittal of the list, review and confirm the citizenship status of each of the approximately 20,000 individuals on the list on the eve of an election and within a mere 48 hours. This is an emergency of the DOJ’s creation.”

The LA County Registrar/Recorder, which was also named in the suit, blasted the earlier letter from DOJ that accompanied the thumb drive.

“We have not accessed the drive because doing so would conflict with established data privacy and information security protocols. We do not consider the device a secure medium. Additionally, the letter does not specify the number of individuals involved or describe the information contained in the records,” Dean Logan, who also serves as the county clerk, said in a statement.

“Maintaining accurate voter registration records is a fundamental responsibility of our office. Federal and state laws are clear on how voter eligibility is established — and any action to remove a voter from eligibility must be based on verifiable information, not assertions of unconfirmed data matching.”

The Justice Department is already facing legal action over the letter.

The UCLA Voting Rights Project sued DHS and DOJ in September to gain information on how it developed a list of alleged noncitizen voters that appears to be the basis for its request this week. The group went to court to seek an emergency order to block the Justice Department from pushing California to cross reference voters.