DOJ Charges 28 California Green Card Holders in Voting Case

The US Justice Department charged 28 green card holders in California with election-related crimes on Monday, October 19, 2026, intensifying its dispute with state officials over voter eligibility. The department also asked a federal court to prevent California from processing ballots associated with registered voters whom federal authorities consider likely noncitizens.

According to Justice Department officials, all 28 individuals appeared on a list of 20,000 names delivered to Los Angeles County officials the previous week. Some defendants allegedly registered to vote more than 20 years ago, while others do not appear to have cast ballots. Several face allegations of making false statements on naturalization applications concerning prior voter registration or claims of US citizenship.

The legal dispute escalated after federal officials gave Los Angeles County a flash drive containing the names and a 48-hour deadline to investigate them. State and local officials declined to comply, prompting the federal government to file a lawsuit. California officials have requested details supporting the federal government's conclusions but have not received the requested information, according to NPR.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter defended the prosecution effort during a news conference announcing the charges.

"This Department of Justice will not look the other way while noncitizens vote in federal elections. Unfortunately the same can't be said for California and L.A. County."

McCotter also warned California officials in a letter on Friday that they could face criminal prosecution for knowingly processing ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens. President Donald Trump subsequently threatened California officials in a post on Truth Social, writing, "They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!"

The Justice Department said it has charged 113 noncitizens across 20 states with voting or voter registration crimes over the preceding seven weeks. The Trump administration has increased its efforts to identify suspected ineligible voting as early voting begins in multiple states.

However, noncitizen voting has not been established as a widespread problem in US elections. Previous research has found that cases involving noncitizen registration or voting can stem from administrative errors rather than intentional fraud. New Jersey disclosed earlier in 2026 that a motor vehicle agency software glitch had registered more than 6,000 people to vote despite their having indicated they were noncitizens.

Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for California's Central District, disputed the suggestion that such cases generally result from administrative mistakes.

"It's not something that just happens to you. They either attested to it when they got a driver's license, or they went out of their way to file a voter registration form, and they swore under oath that they were a citizen."

Essayli's remarks came as election law experts questioned the scale and significance of the allegations. Rick Hasen, an election law expert who leads UCLA's Safeguarding Democracy Project, said the charges could create risks for eligible voters and undermine confidence in election administration.

Hasen noted that California has more than 20 million registered voters and said the allegations represent a small proportion of the electorate. He also cautioned that the cases had not all been substantiated and raised concerns that the dispute could be used to justify interference with ballots after the election.

"There's a few things to be worried about. One is the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters. The other is the risk that it further undermines voter confidence in the electoral process by making it seem like [noncitizen voting] is a major problem when it is not. And the third risk is that this is going to be used as some sort of pretext to try to seize ballots or interfere after the election is over."

Hasen also questioned whether the number of allegations justified the administration's emphasis on noncitizen voting.

"Given that there's over 20 million registered voters in California, this is quite a small number of allegations. And we don't know how many of these allegations will even pan out. And so even if all of these were in fact people who were illegally voting, it's a drop in the bucket compared to the number of voters in California."

Dana Lewis, a Republican county recorder in Pinal County, Arizona, said election officials elsewhere were monitoring the California dispute. She compared their concerns with reactions to an FBI raid on an elections office in Georgia's Fulton County in January, adding that officials administering closely contested races could worry about facing similar federal action.

"When this impacts another jurisdiction, you automatically have to feel that. If it's happening in Georgia, if it's happening in Colorado or California, we're all watching."

Concerns about election enforcement have also extended to voters. Recent polling cited by NPR suggests a substantial share of Americans expect immigration enforcement to be present at polling locations during the fall elections, despite federal law prohibiting armed federal agents from polling places. Nonwhite voters are more likely than white voters to express concern that voting could expose them to questioning by immigration authorities, even when they are US citizens.

Dean Logan, Los Angeles County's top election official, addressed those concerns in an earlier interview with NPR, urging voters not to let legal disputes and misinformation discourage participation.

"Given everything leading up to this election, what we're trying to remind voters is the best way to secure the election is through your participation. Don't be distracted by the litigation. Don't be distracted by the mis- and disinformation.

If you have questions, let us know, let us answer them. But don't let this keep you from voting. Because if you're not voting, none of the rest matters,"