DOJ’s California demand threatens ‘warrant-based ballot seizure,’ Democrats’ court filing warns

By Alexandra Hutzler

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CITY OF INDUSTRY, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 05: An election worker examines ballots for the California state primary election at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center on June 05, 2026 in City of Industry, California. The U.S. Department of Justice sent a federal prosecutor to observe ballot counting in Los Angeles County after President Donald Trump alleged, without evidence, that delays in counting ballots were the result of election fraud. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Department of Justice’s new demand that California election officials prevent an unverified federal list of alleged noncitizens from voting or face legal action “appears to be a plausible threat that DOJ will attempt to engage in warrant-based ballot seizure,” Democrats said in a new court filing overnight. 

The warning comes in the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking documents about any plans to interfere in the midterm elections. 

Any records related to the matter “should be produced with urgency,” the DNC said. 

The DNC sued the administration in August for violating the Freedom of Information Act after its requests for records on plans to seize ballots, voting machines or other election materials went unanswered for five months.

In the new joint status report filed overnight, Democrats said the DOJ’s Criminal Division sent them a final response letter in early October saying their continued search  yielded “no responsive records.”

But a letter sent this week by acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter to California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar appear to dispute that finding, Democrats said. 

“The letter threatens that if California officials fail to comply with DOJ demands within 48 hours, the Department ‘will have no choice but to seek emergency relief.’ Coming from the acting Deputy Attorney General overseeing the Criminal Division, this appears to be a plausible threat that DOJ will attempt to engage in warrant-based ballot seizure,” the Democrats said.

They are requesting that the court immediately order the DOJ’s Criminal Division to disclose the parameters of its previous records search and to conduct new searches based on “potential actions to seize ballots in states that do not comply with last-minute DOJ demands.”

Along with the letter, the DOJ sent Los Angeles County a “password-protected thumb drive” with names of people the Trump administration “believes are likely noncitizens.”

It wants election officials to comb through the data and not send ballots to people on that list until their citizenship status is confirmed. If someone on the list has already been mailed a ballot, the DOJ told election officials to separate their ballot and refuse to count it until the voter’s citizenship status is confirmed. If California refuses to take these steps, the DOJ said it will go to court.

The extraordinary demand, made a week after voting began in the state, comes with no clear legal authority. And it’s not known how many alleged noncitizens the Trump administration believes may be on California’s voter rolls. Democracy Docket asked the DOJ for that number but it didn’t respond.