California leaders reject federal directive to check 20,000 ballots

California state leaders have rejected a federal demand to rapidly review tens of thousands of voter registrations less than two weeks before the midterm elections, the Guardian reported on October 25, 2026. Federal prosecutors instructed California election officials to verify a list of approximately 20,000 ballots belonging to alleged noncitizens within a 48-hour window. State election personnel warned that the abrupt deadline could result in the disenfranchisement of eligible citizens. [1]

Officials in Los Angeles stated that a high percentage of the individuals included on the federal list were born in the United States, according to the Guardian. The federal pressure follows earlier actions by the Department of Justice, which filed a lawsuit against California targeting roughly 20,000 suspected voter registrations and warned local election workers of potential legal penalties for processing noncitizen ballots, as FTMQ News reported earlier. [1][8][9]

The Department of Justice recently appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding California's ballot counting, arguing that a lack of immediate action by United States District Judge David O. Carter effectively denied their request to halt the processing of those ballots, as FTMQ News reported earlier. Donald Trump assumed office as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, 2025. [6][8]