Updated Oct 29

Checking Voters' Citizenship

A federal judge has refused to let the Justice Department hold back California ballots. On 28 October Judge David O. Carter denied its request to set aside mail ballots from more than 20,000 people it calls likely noncitizens. He found the department likely has no standing, that the remedy would breach the federal bar on systematic removals so close to an election, and that he “cannot conclude” its matching is credible. Its remedy, he wrote, is to indict individuals. The department appealed that evening. Two days earlier an appeals court had thrown out its first, premature appeal.

The government’s own filings say the list began with a voter file it bought in May, matched against federal records with LexisNexis data. Los Angeles County says 38.9% of a sample that recorded a birthplace listed the United States. USCIS disputes that but concedes four on the list may be citizens.

The department has now asked Washington to set aside about 400 ballots, and the secretary of state refused. In Arizona, Maricopa County restored 25 SAVE-flagged voters found to be citizens. An immigrant-rights group has asked a Washington, D.C., court to halt the federal campaign.

New Oct 29

The whole story5 chapters

The state of it — as of October 29, 2026

20,000+

Californians federally flagged as likely noncitizens; a judge let their ballots count

0 of 185

Nevada voters named by Homeland Security as noncitizens who were found to be

8 of 60

SAVE-flagged Maricopa County voters who voted and were found noncitizens

Today

NewOct 28, 2026

Judge Refuses to Hold Back 20,000 California Ballots

Judge David O. Carter denied the Justice Department’s request to make California and Los Angeles County set aside mail ballots from the more than 20,000 people on its list, so they will be processed as usual. He found the department likely lacks standing, that the federal ban on noncitizen voting does not override state procedures, that the remedy would likely breach the 90-day bar on systematic removals, and that he “cannot conclude” its matching process is credible. Its remedy, he wrote, is to indict individuals. After the department wrote to every county on 23 October warning of “federal scrutiny”, he added: “these threats must stop.” The department filed an appeal the same evening.

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CourtListener / RECAP document archive (Free Law Project)NPRThe New York TimesPolitico EuropeDemocracy DocketCBS NewsCNN

Earlier this month

NewOct 26, 2026

Appeals Court Throws Out the Justice Department’s Early Appeal in the California Ballot Case

A Ninth Circuit panel dismissed, 2–1, the department’s appeal over the roughly 20,000 California ballots, finding no jurisdiction: the trial judge had set a hearing for 27 October and had not “constructively denied” the request by waiting. The unsigned order called the claimed emergency “at least in part, a self-constructed one.” Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez each wrote that they would also have refused the relief on the merits; Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented. The department did not seek a rehearing by the full court.

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitCourtListener / RECAP document archive (Free Law Project)CBS NewsPolitico EuropeCNN

NewOct 26, 2026

Federal Filings Show How the California List Was Built

Sworn declarations from a USCIS official say the list began with a California voter file Homeland Security Investigations bought in May, “enhanced” with LexisNexis data and matched to immigration, State Department and Social Security records, then scored and reviewed by hand; the department says SAVE was not used. Los Angeles County, a defendant, says 38.9% of a 200-name sample with a reported birthplace listed the United States. USCIS replies that none it matched was U.S.-born by its records, while conceding four “might have a claim to U.S. citizenship.”

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CourtListener / RECAP document archive (Free Law Project)CNNDemocracy DocketNPR

NewOct 26, 2026

Justice Department Asks Washington to Set Aside About 400 Ballots; the State Refuses

The acting U.S. attorney in Seattle, Charles Neil Floyd, asked Washington’s secretary of state to set aside ballots from about 400 registered voters Homeland Security says are likely noncitizens (Democracy Docket reports 405), the second state after California. On 28 October Secretary Steve Hobbs refused, calling cooperation “irresponsible and illegal” and saying a quick check had found U.S. citizens on the list. No suit against Washington had been reported.

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NPRThe New York TimesDemocracy DocketDemocracy DocketCNN

NewOct 23, 2026

Maricopa County Restores 25 Citizens Flagged Through SAVE, Ending the State’s Suit

After a court-ordered mediation, Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap reinstated 25 voters whose registrations he had cancelled after flagging them through the federal SAVE system, and whom county prosecutors and the attorney general had found to be citizens. His office said they are active again and that ballots went to those on the early-voting list. Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes dropped their suit. Heap said he acted as soon as he received documentation he considered legally sufficient.

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Arizona Mirror

NewOct 22, 2026

We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens.

— US Department of Homeland Security

Not yet checked

A department statement to NPR after a federal judge barred it from questioning likely citizens in nine states. Its own USCIS declarant concedes a “low possibility” that citizens are wrongly identified. Checkable once the injunction period ends.

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NPR

NewOct 22, 2026

Immigrant-Rights Group Asks a Washington Judge to Halt the Federal Push on California Ballots

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and a California voter, Pedro Trujillo, filed an emergency application in federal court in Washington against Homeland Security, its secretary Markwayne Mullin and Attorney General Todd Blanche. They ask the court to bar the federal practice of compiling lists of alleged noncitizen voters from government databases and pressing California officials to remove voters or set aside ballots, and to bar any federally induced systematic removal within 90 days of the election. No hearing had been set when it was filed.

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Democracy Docket

Oct 21, 2026

Judge Bars Homeland Security From Questioning Likely Citizens in Nine States

Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland barred the Department of Homeland Security from election-related field operations and interviews involving people it knows or should suspect are citizens in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin, or based only on its voter-matching records. The court found the department’s lists drew on about 99 million records, and quoted its own admission that matching errs on “similar names, incomplete records, outdated citizenship information, clerical errors”. Investigating unlawful voting stays lawful. The order is stayed until 5pm on 23 October and lasts until polls close on 3 November.

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CourtListener / RECAP document archive (Free Law Project)CBS NewsNews From The StatesYahoo News

Oct 21, 2026

Arizona’s Attorney General Sues to Restore 25 Citizens Flagged Through SAVE

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sued Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, saying he kept 25 voters in “not eligible” status, with no mail ballot, after county investigators found them to be citizens. They were among voters Heap flagged through the federal SAVE system and referred for prosecution. In September County Attorney Rachel Mitchell found that of the 60 referred voters who had cast ballots, 8 were noncitizens and 52 were citizens; 147 more remain under investigation. The suit asks that the 25 be reinstated and sent ballots. The recorder’s office did not immediately comment.

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VotebeatArizona Mirror

Oct 20, 2026

California and Los Angeles County Oppose Holding Back the Ballots

California and Los Angeles County opposed the request. Both argue the federal law against noncitizen voting does not require registrars to set ballots aside on a federal referral; the state called its one claim one that “borders on the absurd”. County declarations say a review of 200 names from the list found many appear to be citizens and most had not voted or been sent ballots, and Registrar Dean Logan said only 7,035 of the 20,930 names have Los Angeles County addresses. On 21 October the case was reassigned to Judge David O. Carter. No hearing date has been reported.

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Yahoo NewsCalMattersDemocracy DocketLos Angeles TimesDemocracy Docket

Oct 20, 2026

Democratic Leaders Sue Over Federal Pressure to Remove Voters and Set Aside Ballots

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, national Democratic groups, the Nevada State Democratic Party and Erick Jose Jimenez, a naturalized citizen who votes in California, sued President Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Attorney General Todd Blanche in federal court in Washington. They allege a coordinated effort to press election officials to remove voters and segregate ballots “based on spurious and unreliable claims that they are not citizens”. The White House said: “Anyone who illegally votes in our elections will be held accountable.” No hearing date has been reported.

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Los Angeles Times

Oct 19, 2026

Justice Department Charges 28 California Green-Card Holders With Voting Crimes

The Justice Department charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California, arresting 11 on 19 October, with crimes including fraudulent voter registration, voting as a noncitizen and lying on naturalization applications. Prosecutors allege most of them voted. These are charges, not convictions; four defendants were released without supervision and have a preliminary hearing on 9 November. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said all 28 appear on the list of more than 20,000 Californians the department flagged; that is the department’s account. Twenty-eight charged is the first number from that list past the stage of flagged.

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United States Department of JusticeNPRLos Angeles TimesCalMatters

Oct 19, 2026

Justice Department Asks a Judge to Hold Back 20,000 California Ballots

The United States asked the federal court in Los Angeles for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction stopping California and Los Angeles County from tabulating mail ballots from the roughly 20,000 people on its list until their citizenship is verified, relying on the federal law that makes noncitizen voting a crime. Its complaint says verification is not “practicable or feasible” before the election concludes. The same day McCotter said: “There may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens.” A Homeland Security official told the court about 189 records showed “discrepancies”.

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NPRCalMattersYahoo NewsLos Angeles Times

Oct 19, 2026

Today’s arrests prove what we have been saying. California is mailing ballots to noncitizens, and they are refusing to comply with federal law, which makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote.

— Bill Essayli

Not yet checked

Unverified. The 28 are charged, not convicted. Homeland Security reports discrepancies in about 189 of the listed records, and Los Angeles County says many in a 200-voter sample appear to be citizens. No court or review has found how many on the list are noncitizens.

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United States Department of JusticeLos Angeles Times

Oct 16, 2026

Justice Department Appeals the Voter-Roll Ruling and Asks for a Stay

The Justice Department appealed Judge Sooknanan’s 9 October ruling to the D.C. Circuit and asked her to suspend it while the appeal runs. Its motion says “There is no such policy” as the one the court vacated, and that its letters only asked states to provide rolls. It argues a federal match only tells the department a voter might be ineligible, and that removal is the state’s decision. The plaintiffs oppose a stay and asked for the fourteen days the court’s rules allow to respond. Until the court acts, the ruling stands.

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Democracy DocketDemocracy DocketNews From The States

Oct 16, 2026

Justice Department Warns Los Angeles Officials They Risk Prosecution for Counting Flagged Ballots

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter wrote to Los Angeles County’s lawyers, copying Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Registrar Dean Logan, that officials who knowingly count ballots from people federal agencies have identified as noncitizens “risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime”, according to the Associated Press, which obtained the letter. President Trump posted the letter and wrote: “They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” The state and county did not immediately respond. No court has ordered any ballot set aside.

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PBS NewsHourThe HillNPR

Oct 15, 2026

Justice Department Sues California to Stop Counting Ballots It Says Came From Noncitizens

The United States sued California, its Secretary of State and the Los Angeles County registrar in federal court in Los Angeles on 15 October. It asks for an injunction barring the state from counting, in federal races, mail ballots from people the federal government has identified as likely noncitizens until their citizenship is verified. The complaint alleges more than 20,000 such people are registered, many in Los Angeles County, and that the county refused the list. Its one claim is that federal law making noncitizen voting a crime overrides the state’s mail-voting rules. No hearing date has been set.

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United States Department of JusticeRoll CallNews From The StatesPBS NewsHourCalifornia Secretary of StateNPR

Oct 15, 2026

Voting and Privacy Groups Sue Homeland Security Over Its Collection of Voter Files

The League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and LULAC sued the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations and USCIS in federal court in Washington (No. 1:26-cv-03602). They ask the court to vacate and block the department’s collection of state voter files for citizenship checks, under the Privacy Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, and to have the data deleted. The complaint alleges the department holds some version of at least 47 states’ voter lists; that is the plaintiffs’ allegation. No hearing date has been set.

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Democracy ForwardCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Oct 15, 2026

Plaintiffs Ask the Voter-Roll Judge Whether the California Suit Defies Her Order

The plaintiffs who won the 9 October ruling against the Justice Department’s voter-roll collection asked Judge Sparkle Sooknanan for a status conference to decide whether the department’s 13 October letters to California and its California suit are inconsistent with her order. The department’s lawyers replied that Homeland Security bought California’s publicly available roll and did not use SAVE to build the list, so the order does not reach it. States Newsroom reports the judge ordered the department to respond by 19 October.

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CourtListener / RECAP document archive (Free Law Project)News From The StatesDemocracy Docket

Oct 13, 2026

North Carolina Writes to 1,392 Voters Flagged by the Federal Citizenship Check

North Carolina’s State Board of Elections said it would write to 1,392 registered voters identified as potential noncitizens through the federal SAVE system. The Department of Homeland Security had first identified nearly 1,600; the board’s own review and motor-vehicle records cut the list. The letter asks recipients to request removal if they registered in error, or to send proof of citizenship. The board said no one would be removed on SAVE data alone, and that a letter does not cancel a registration or stop anyone voting on 3 November. These are voters flagged, not found to be noncitizens.

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North Carolina State Board of Elections

Oct 9, 2026

Federal Judge Strikes Down the Justice Department’s Collection of State Voter Rolls

Federal judge Sparkle Sooknanan vacated the Justice Department policy under which it asked 49 states and the District of Columbia for complete voter lists, had them checked against a federal citizenship database, and pressed states to remove those flagged. At least 18 complied. The court found no statute authorised it and wrote that it “has removed United States citizens from the voter rolls”. CBS News and The Hill report it applies nationwide, including to files already held. States may still maintain their own rolls. The department is reviewing it. The Supreme Court’s September order concerned a different case.

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CourtListener / RECAP document archive (Free Law Project)CBS NewsThe HillThe Guardian

This quarter

Sep 25, 2026

Supreme Court Lets the Federal Citizenship-Check System Stay in Use

The Supreme Court stayed a lower-court order that had struck down the expanded SAVE system, which lets states check registered voters’ citizenship against federal records. The system stays available while the appeal runs. The unsigned opinion said the challengers’ claims “likely lack merit”. It noted that federal law bars systematic changes to voter rolls within ninety days of an election, so only individual checks are possible before November. Justice Jackson dissented, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, citing voters in Texas whose registrations were wrongly questioned; she expected “minimal short-term impact”.

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Supreme Court of the United StatesCouncil on Foreign Relations

Sep 22, 2026

Nevada Finds All 185 Voters Homeland Security Named as Noncitizens Are Citizens

Nevada wrote to the Department of Homeland Security that all 185 people the department had named as noncitizens on its rolls were citizens: “our records indicate that they were citizens.” The department had claimed as many as 15,903. It says the 185 were a manually reviewed subset and calls Nevada’s account false. Nevada says it was never given a list of 15,903, only about 6,218 voter case numbers, which it says cannot show citizenship. The New York Times obtained the letters. Of the voters named, the number found to be noncitizens is zero.

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The New York TimesCalMattersCNN

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