DOJ's Attempt to Disenfranchise 20,000 California Voters Rejected by the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — Today, following two losses at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and a final bid at the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) effort to disenfranchise more than 20,000 California voters failed again.
This defeat is part of a legal battle that began in mid-October, when DOJ sued the state of California for refusing to comply with unprecedented demands to block the counting of potentially thousands of ballots from registered California voters — despite no credible evidence that these voters are ineligible to participate in our democracy — and a pro-voter coalition intervened.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), the Office of General Counsel of the NAACP, and the law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP, on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference (NAACP CA/HI), and NAACP Los Angeles Branch intervened in this case on October 16, 2026, the day after the DOJ first filed its suit.
“We are pleased that the Supreme Court affirmed what we knew from the very beginning: that our elections are safe and secure and the Trump administration has no right or ability to block counting the votes of up to 20,000 California voters,” said Anna Baldwin, director of voting rights litigation at Campaign Legal Center. “Today’s victory is a win for democracy and for the American people. This administration’s efforts to interfere with free and fair elections will continue to fail.”
“For the fourth and final time, the administration has been blocked by the courts in a desperate, eleventh-hour attempt to hijack the midterm election cycle in California. This is a victory for voters and election officials alike across California," said Kristen Clarke, NAACP General Counsel. “This scheme was a baseless and ill-founded attempt by the administration to sow chaos and confusion. We will continue to use every tool available, inside and outside the courtroom, to vindicate the rights of voters and their ability to have their voices heard."
"The Supreme Court's swift dismissal of the DOJ's request leaves no doubt that this scheme was purely political theater," said Juan Proaño, chief executive officer of LULAC. "The DOJ tried to disqualify tens of thousands of ballots to push mistrust in our elections with only hours to go until Election Day. We refused to stand by while the federal government's actions threatened the voices of Latino voters and voters across the country. LULAC will always continue to stand for our Latino community and their right to vote."
“Again, and again, our nation’s courts have made clear that the Trump administration’s efforts to meddle in tomorrow’s election is not legal. It is time for President Trump and his allies at the Department of Justice to throw in the towel on their subversion efforts and allow the people of California and America to vote and have their vote fairly counted,” said Tianna Mays, legal director for Democracy Defenders Fund. “Our nation is strongest when we all show up and that is exactly what the American people have been doing in record numbers. And, it will continue tomorrow.”
Background:
On October 14, 2026, the DOJ sent a letter to the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Los Angeles County and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber along with a thumb drive of over 20,000 voters whom the DOJ alleges are ineligible to vote, based on faulty data.
The DOJ demanded that Los Angeles separate and refuse to count these ballots, despite there being no credible evidence that these voters are ineligible.
On October 15, 2026, the DOJ sued the state of California for refusing to comply with their orders, despite the fact that these voters were targeted based on faulty and incomplete citizenship data using a shoddy and opaque methodology.
On October 22, the DOJ circumvented the normal judicial process and appealed this case to the Ninth Circuit, despite not having a ruling from the district court. The Ninth Circuit rejected their appeal on October 26, and the district court ruled against them on October 28. The DOJ again appealed to the Ninth Circuit, and again, lost on October 30, 2026. The DOJ then took its case to the Supreme Court, where it was once again rejected.
CLC and DDF, the Office of General Counsel of the NAACP, and the law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP, on behalf of LULAC the NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference (NAACP CA/HI), and NAACP Los Angeles Branch, intervened in this case on October 16, 2026.
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