President Trump escalated the Justice Department's confrontation with California election officials on Friday, warning that state and local leaders could face criminal prosecution if they include ballots from more than 200,000 voters the federal government has flagged as potential non-citizens in the upcoming midterm count.
"They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, attaching a copy of the DOJ's letter to the Los Angeles County Counsel's Office. The president's remarks amplify the department's lawsuit filed Thursday, which demands that California cross-check its voter rolls against federal immigration data.
The legal action stems from a USB drive the DOJ provided to state election officials, containing a list of 20,000 names flagged by the Department of Homeland Security as likely non-citizens. The federal government gave California 48 hours to compare those names against its own voter database and to set aside ballots from any individuals whose citizenship could not be verified, according to the lawsuit.
In a letter sent earlier this week, the DOJ included a handwritten password to access the files on the thumb drive, and threatened litigation if officials did not comply. The lawsuit states: "If California was unable to independently confirm the citizenship of people on that list, the Federal Government asked that California set aside ballots received from them until the person's citizenship was confirmed."
Governor Gavin Newsom (D) fired back, calling the lawsuit a "sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day." He added that the courts have made clear the federal government has no role in state election processes and accused the administration of asking local officials to "violate federal law."
Voting rights advocates have also mobilized. The UCLA Voting Rights Project sent a letter to the DOJ on Wednesday, threatening to seek a temporary restraining order if the administration did not abandon its plans. The attorneys argued that compiling such a list violates established law and that using it to purge voters so close to an election breaches the National Voter Registration Act.
This is not the first time Trump has made such claims. In July, he alleged that California and three other states collectively had 250,000 non-citizens on their voter rolls. A preliminary federal review, however, found fewer than half that number—118,000—matched the government's flagged list.
The lawsuit arrives less than three weeks before the November midterms, intensifying a legal battle over election integrity and federal oversight. Trump's ongoing campaign rallies have kept voter fraud allegations at the forefront, while GOP efforts on voting technology have drawn scrutiny. The dispute also highlights the broader clash between state and federal authority, a theme that has resonated in key Senate races.
