DOJ sues California to block votes from alleged noncitizens

Reuters via Yahoo ^ | October 15th, 2026 | By Andrew Goudsward and Luc Cohen

[Mariner]

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The US Justice Department sued California on Thursday, asking a federal judge to block the state from counting mail ballots ‌for the November 3 midterm elections from more than 20,000 voters the Trump administration alleges ‌are likely noncitizens.

The lawsuit marks the latest effort by President Donald Trump's administration to boost the federal government's role in elections ahead ​of the midterms, with his Republican Party locked in a tight battle to retain control of both houses of Congress.

The US Constitution assigns the responsibility of administering elections to individual states, though the federal government has some oversight role.

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TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: california

[Mariner]

The Federal Government determines voter eligibility for Federal elections.

DOJ has a good case.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The lawsuit marks the latest effort by President Donald Trump's administration to boost the federal government's role in elections ahead ​of the midterms ensure honest elections

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The Federal Government determines voter eligibility for Federal elections. DOJ has a good case.

https://x.com/i/grok/share/bGVnYWN5LWNvcHk_8dc759b5-34f4-42b1-8f24-4187d6b80f44

No. States primarily determine voter eligibility for federal elections, subject to limits in the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes.

Under Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution (and the parallel rule in the 17th Amendment for Senate elections), the electors (voters) in each state for congressional elections “shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.” This assigns the core authority over voter qualifications to the states. The same principle effectively applies to presidential elections through state processes for choosing electors.⁠

The Elections Clause (Article I, Section 4) gives states primary authority over the “Times, Places and Manner” of holding congressional elections, with Congress able to “make or alter” those regulations. However, this does not include the power to set voter qualifications themselves—the Supreme Court has noted that prescribing voting qualifications “forms no part of the power” conferred by the Elections Clause.

Federal limits on state authority

Federal constitutional amendments and laws constrain what states can do:

• 15th Amendment: No denial or abridgment of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
• 19th Amendment: No denial based on sex.
• 24th Amendment: No poll tax in federal elections.
• 26th Amendment: Voting age of 18 or older.
• Federal law (e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 611) prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections (for President, Vice President, Congress, etc.).
• Statutes such as the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), and Help America Vote Act (HAVA) set rules on registration processes, list maintenance, nondiscrimination, and related procedures that states must follow for federal elections.⁠

States still set and administer most concrete eligibility rules and verification processes, including residency requirements, rules for people with felony convictions (where allowed under the 14th Amendment), mental capacity standards, voter ID, registration deadlines/methods, and how eligibility is checked. Election administration (registration, poll books, ballot casting, counting) is handled almost entirely by state and local officials.⁠

In short, the federal government sets a constitutional floor and certain uniform procedural requirements, and it criminalizes noncitizen voting in federal races, but it does not determine the bulk of voter eligibility rules. Those remain a state responsibility. 30 sources

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Buried in the previouse excerpt is this gem:

Federal law (e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 611) prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections (for President, Vice President, Congress, etc.).

That's what I was looking for. It IS illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. I wanted to find the law, and there it is.

[Empire_of_Liberty]

Not that Rooters can be educated, but the original US Constitution also had a Three Fifths Clause. The Federal Government was kept out of elections because there were States in the Union where human slavery was legal.

The 14th Amendment was added, not to provide for anchor babies, but to address this.

[moreisee]

Moter Voter in California should be illegal. Same day voting at polling stations with same day results should be the norm like it was when I first started voting. Making it easier to vote just makes it easier to cheat and Democrat States like California have cheating down to a science.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Isn't state registration of illegal aliens to vote when no effort is made to prevent them from voting in federal elections something the federal governmemt can sanction states for, by invalidating their federal election results, for instance?

https://chatgpt.com/share/6ad12b6d-d644-83e8-9feb-c021413b4200

Federal Authority Over State Voter Registration and Elections

The federal government has constitutional authority to enforce federal voting laws against states, but it does not have a general power to invalidate a state's federal election results simply because the state registers ineligible voters. The legal answer depends on what the state actually does, what safeguards it has in place, and whether ineligible people register, cast ballots, or have their ballots counted.

Three Distinct Issues

1. Registering noncitizens: Federal law generally prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, subject to limited statutory exceptions. States may process voter-registration applications, but they must follow applicable eligibility requirements.
2. Failing to prevent illegal voting: A state that knowingly facilitates unlawful voting, or whose practices violate federal election law, may face federal investigation, litigation, or other legal remedies. However, registering someone does not establish that the person actually voted, and an administrative failure does not automatically prove a federal-law violation.
3. Invalidating election results: This is much more difficult. Federal law provides mechanisms for enforcing voting requirements and challenging unlawful conduct, but there is no automatic rule invalidating all federal election results in a state because ineligible people were registered or because the state failed to take particular preventive measures.

What Can the Federal Government Actually Do?

The Constitution gives Congress substantial authority over federal election procedures under Article I, Section 4, known as the Elections Clause. Congress can enact federal requirements governing voter registration, election administration, and vote counting. The Department of Justice can bring enforcement actions under applicable federal statutes.

Federal Response	Legal Position
Sue a state to enforce federal election law	Yes, where an applicable law authorizes the action.
Investigate or prosecute officials who knowingly facilitate illegal voting	Potentially, depending on the conduct and evidence establishing a statutory violation.
Seek court orders preventing unlawful ballots from being counted	Potentially, subject to applicable law, evidence, timing, and judicial review.
Automatically invalidate every federal election result in a noncompliant state	No general authority or automatic mechanism establishes this consequence.
Challenge a particular election result	Possible through applicable election-contest procedures if the legal grounds and evidentiary requirements are met.

The distinction is between punishing or correcting unlawful election administration and nullifying an election's outcome. The latter raises additional legal questions, including whether unlawful ballots were actually cast and counted, whether they could have affected the result, and what remedy a court is authorized to impose.

What If the State Knowingly Permits It?

The hypothetical becomes more serious if state officials knowingly register ineligible voters, deliberately fail to enforce applicable federal requirements, or facilitate the counting of illegal votes.

Federal law, including 18 U.S.C. § 611, prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, subject to narrow statutory exceptions. Other statutes address false citizenship claims and election-related misconduct.

• Registration is not voting. A person may appear on a voter roll without ever casting a ballot.
• Negligence is not necessarily a crime. Criminal liability generally requires proof of the elements of a particular offense, including any applicable knowledge or intent requirement.
• A violation does not automatically determine the remedy. Courts must identify the applicable legal authority and the appropriate relief.

The federal government therefore has tools to investigate, prosecute, and seek judicial remedies for unlawful conduct. That does not mean it can unilaterally cancel an entire state's congressional or presidential election results as a general punishment.

Federal Intervention in Practice

Federal authorities can seek judicial intervention when they allege that state election practices violate federal law. Whether a court grants the requested relief depends on the applicable law and evidence. Such a case does not automatically establish that an entire state's election results should be invalidated.

Conclusion

The underlying constitutional point is correct in an important respect: states do not have unlimited discretion over federal elections, and Congress can override state election procedures through valid federal law.

However, invalidating statewide federal election results is not an automatic or generally available sanction for registering ineligible voters. The legally supportable remedy depends on the specific violations, their effects, and the authority available to the courts.

[FreeReign]

In short, the federal government sets a constitutional floor and certain uniform procedural requirements, and it criminalizes noncitizen voting in federal races, but it does not determine the bulk of voter eligibility rules. Those remain a state responsibility. 30 sources

You just (correctly) listed a bunch of voter eligibility rights that the states can't abridge.

What is left, which you describe as, "the bulk of voter eligibility rules"?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

What is left, which you describe as, "the bulk of voter eligibility rules"?

I am not advocating anything. I am trying to figure out what can be legally done.

I posted some relevant things later on in this thread.

[Mariner]

Nothing in the above statutes or Clauses allows a state to permit non citizens to vote in Federal elections.

Nor do they allow a state to excluded any voter based on race and several other factors.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

See my later posts in this thread.

[Amendment10]

Thank you for referencing that article Mariner.

(Reuters) - The US Justice Department sued California on Thursday, asking a federal judge to block the state from counting mail ballots ‌for the November 3 midterm elections from more than 20,000 [??? Emphasis added] voters the Trump administration alleges ‌are likely noncitizens.

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The difference between the alleged number of noncitizens from Reuters versus the one below from the Trump Administration below (190,832) are disturbingly different imo. Time will tell.

July 17: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote to Weber that a preliminary review found 190,832 potential noncitizens registered in California. (10.15.26; scroll down)

Keep in mind that Trump Administration warnings to states about noncitizens possibly voting is based on the federal oversight power of Section 2 of the 14th Amendment to protect citizen voting power.

In fact, note the zero tolerance "hair triggers" in that section that the Supremes, Pence and the J6 Congress wrongly ignored (imo) when lawmakers voted to accept Biden's electoral votes in 2020 despite allegations of vote-counting problems.

• is denied to any

• citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged,

• Section 2 of 14A: Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election [all emphases added] for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. [Apportionment of Representatives]

• Section 5 of 14A: The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Also note that the California state officials resisting the federal government's Section 2-based oversight power to guarantee honest elections are possibly candidates for removal from office under Section 3 of 14A.

14th Amendment, Section 3: No person shall [all emphases added] be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

It wound't be surprising if Sections 2 & 3 were intended as a group.

[ChessExpert]

Block votes from “alleged” noncitizens?

I’m pretty sure the objective is to block votes from noncitizens (real, not alleged). Here’s another possible headline: California refuses to block votes from noncitizens.

[SunkenCiv]

• DOJ gives California 48 hours to review list of possible noncitizens on voter rolls [10/15/2026]

[Jim Noble]

The Federal Government determines voter eligibility for Federal elections.

By what authority?

Congress has refused tp pass the SAVE Act. The next Congress certainly will not pass it.

Congress has the POWER to legislate manner, places, and times of elections for the House and the Senate (and only those elections) - have they done so?

The other branches have no authority over the States when it comes to elections.

[Bob Wills is still the king]

“The Federal Government determines voter eligibility for Federal elections.

By what authority?

Congress has refused tp pass the SAVE Act. The next Congress certainly will not pass it.

Congress has the POWER to legislate manner, places, and times of elections for the House and the Senate (and only those elections) - have they done so?

The other branches have no authority over the States when it comes to elections.”
___________________________________________________________

Sounds like it’s another candidate for the “shadow docket” to the Supreme Court that Trump has used so often.

[monkeyshine]

Doesn’t matter. Those 20,000 are probably registered to vote three times.

[jimfree]

An earlier initiative was blocked because there was not enough time before the election. As California takes forever to count, there is plenty of time to pull these ballots from the count.