The Department of Justice has put California on notice that officials who process ballots from suspected non-citizen voters could be subject to federal prosecution.
In another sign that the Trump administration means business about potential election fraud, the DOJ fired off a Friday letter to the LA County Counsel’s office warning of legal action for those who tabulate the ballots from those who should be ineligible, potentially including time behind bars.
🚨 BREAKING: Trump DOJ just issued an OFFICIAL notice to Los Angeles County election officials that if they count noncitizen ballots, they may become accomplices to a FEDERAL CRIME after 20K noncitizens suspected
“Administrative difficulty is not a defense to violating federal law or aiding or abetting a federal offense.” 🤯
It’s now DOWN IN WRITING. NO plausible deniability!
LA County claimed it was “legally prohibited” from even temporarily setting aside ballots after DOJ handed over 20,000+ suspected noncitizens on the rolls
DOJ’s answer: “That position is incorrect as a matter of federal law.”
DOJ isn’t asking them to cancel a single registration, only to hold those ballots until citizenship is checked.
Why are Democrats fighting THIS hard to count them?!
We all know that if these are noncitizen ballots, they are heavily blue.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2026
“The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant. Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” reads the letter from acting deputy attorney general Trent McCotter.
“If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime,” according to the letter, which was obtained and first reported by the Associated Press.
“The letter is addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel’s office and also is copied to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, effectively putting the entire state on notice,” according to the outlet.
The warning letter comes a day after the Trump administration sued the state of California to prevent it from counting mail-in votes from people whom the government has identified as being “likely” non-citizens until their citizenship can be confirmed.
“State-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a Thursday statement announcing the lawsuit.
🚨 Justice Department Sues State of California over Voter List
“State-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America,” said @AGToddBlanche. “If found responsible in a court of law, the State of California will have seriously undermined confidence in our electoral system and violated laws that protect our nation’s representative system of government. The Department of Justice will continue working to uncover cases of voter fraud, hold fraudsters accountable, and restore trust in American elections.”
Read more: https://t.co/qHYJBDDZ82
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) October 15, 2026
“If found responsible in a court of law, the State of California will have seriously undermined confidence in our electoral system and violated laws that protect our nation’s representative system of government. The Department of Justice will continue working to uncover cases of voter fraud, hold fraudsters accountable, and restore trust in American elections.”
President Donald J. Trump commented on the letter in a Friday post to Truth Social.
They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!
( TS: Oct 16 2026, 8:28 PM ET ) https://t.co/6LTTuvbr2E
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) October 17, 2026
“They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” Trump wrote.
“The law is clear, aliens in the United States cannot vote in federal elections,” McCotter said of the lawsuit. “What our complaint alleges is that California is facilitating unlawful voting by knowingly allowing noncitizens to vote. This needs to stop.”
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