California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks as he meets voters and local leaders while campaigning for Democrats ahead of mid-term elections in Aiken, South Carolina, U.S. September 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe
An elections expert sounded the alarm over the Justice Department's new legal assault on California's mail-in voting system.
According to Democracy Docket, the new DOJ lawsuit alleges that California sent around 20,000 ballots to noncitizens who are not eligible to vote — and demands that California set aside these ballots pending an investigation of their legal status.
It's a drastic step, wrote Stephen Richer, the former Republican recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona, who handled election responsibilities in that county.
"This a real escalation by the federal government," said Richer on X. "I've mostly said 'Calm, calm. It's going to be OK' with respect to federal involvement in election administration. This lawsuit -- in October, in the middle of early voting -- that asks election officials to disqualify certain voters based on suspect databases, not conclusive evidence, which definitely could have been alleged BEFORE early voting began..."
"This does represent an escalation," he said. "Shucks."
The Trump administration has pulled out all the stops to try to rein in mail ballots and voter rolls around the country.
The administration has sued dozens of states for personal identifying information from voter rolls, including driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — though courts have rebuffed these suits every time states have fought back. Meanwhile, he directed the Postal Service to create a rule preventing delivery of ballots in states that don't comply with a long list of requirements, though federal courts have put the brakes on this.
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