LOS ANGELES — The United States Department of Justice filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the State of California, California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan on Thursday. The United States seeks an injunction to prevent California from tabulating vote-by-mail ballots from persons identified by the Federal Government as likely noncitizens until their citizenship status is verified.

The complaint states that agencies within the Department of Homeland Security found thousands of likely noncitizens registered to vote in California. It alleges that federal law, specifically 18 U.S.C. § 611(a), prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

According to the filing, the Federal Government alerted the California Secretary of State months prior that a preliminary review revealed numerous likely noncitizens were registered to vote in California. The complaint states that the Federal Government asked California to work collaboratively to identify any noncitizens registered to vote in the State.

California began sending vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters in early October 2026. The complaint states that California automatically sends these ballots without bifurcating between state, local, and federal elections, and that they do not warn noncitizens that they are prohibited from voting in federal elections. The complaint also states that the California vote-by-mail signature verification statement omits an affirmation of the voter's U.S. citizenship.

On October 13, 2026, the Federal Government sent California officials a list of over 20,000 names of people it believes are likely noncitizens who were sent vote-by-mail ballots. The complaint states that the Federal Government asked California to set aside ballots received from individuals on the list until their citizenship was confirmed. It further states that the Federal Government asked California to conduct its review by noon on October 15, 2026.

The complaint states that the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk announced via press release that its office rejected an encrypted thumb drive from a federal agent containing information on likely noncitizen voters. Los Angeles County is reportedly the largest and most complex county election jurisdiction in the country with over 500 political districts and 4.85 million registered voters.

The complaint states that California law requires election officials to liberally construe signature verification in favor of the voter. It also states that a signature made using a mark, such as an 'X', is presumed valid under California regulations.