Justice Department Drops California Noncitizen Ballot Lawsuit; Filing Says Challenged Ballots Are Already Commingled

The Justice Department has dropped its lawsuit seeking to force California election officials to set aside vote-by-mail ballots cast by people the department described as "highly likely to be noncitizens." The Digital Free Press reviewed the department's three-page notice of voluntary dismissal, filed Nov. 6, 2026, in federal court in Los Angeles.

What the Filing Says

In the notice, the department says it sought "targeted and modest relief" to have California segregate those ballots until state election officials, "with the opportunity to work with federal officials," could confirm the voters' citizenship. It says it needed that relief around Election Day, Nov. 3, and cites 18 U.S.C. 611, the federal law that bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

The filing says the purpose of that law was "not only to authorize prosecution of illegal voters after their votes have been counted but, more importantly, to also prevent noncitizens from casting ballots in the first place."

The department then explains why it is ending the case. By the time of a Nov. 13 hearing, it says, "California will have already commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones. There is then no way to get the challenged ballots segregated." As a result, the filing says, the relief it sought "is no longer available," and there is "no longer Article III jurisdiction," a reference to the constitutional limit on what federal courts can decide.

The notice also says the United States "is evaluating how to best ensure that American votes are protected, including by preventing vote dilution by noncitizens." It does not say what steps the department may take next.

How the California Ballot Lawsuit Got Here

According to the filing, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter denied the government's request for temporary emergency relief and set a hearing on a preliminary injunction for Nov. 13, which the department notes was "more than a week after Election Day." The department says it then appealed "all the way to Supreme Court," which denied its application for an injunction pending appeal on Nov. 2.

The notice cites two dissents by Ninth Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay, dated Oct. 26 and Oct. 30, from rulings against the government. Courthouse News Service reported that the lawsuit concerned ballots from as many as 20,000 voters on a Department of Homeland Security list of suspected noncitizens, and that Carter had appointed a special master to examine how that list was put together.

The filing is signed for the government by lawyers including Andrew M. Darlington of Main Justice and Bilal A. Essayli, listed as first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. Because no answer or motion for summary judgment had been filed, the notice says, "the case is dismissed."

What Comes Next

A separate case in the same fight also ended on Nov. 6. The Service Employees International Union and other plaintiffs filed a notice voluntarily dismissing, without prejudice, their lawsuit against the Justice Department in federal court in San Francisco. Courthouse News Service reported that the suit concerned department letters warning California election officials about processing ballots from voters on the suspected-noncitizen list.

California counties are still counting ballots from the Nov. 3 election.

Sources: United States' Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, United States v. State of California, et al., No. 2:26-cv-12025 (C.D. Cal.), Dkt. 180, filed Nov. 6, 2026 (https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/united-states-vs-california-dismissal.pdf); Plaintiffs' Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice, SEIU, et al. v. U.S. Department of Justice, et al., No. 3:26-cv-12800 (N.D. Cal.), Dkt. 79, Nov. 6, 2026 (https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/seiu-notice-of-dismissal.pdf); Courthouse News Service, Nov. 6, 2026 (https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-administration-drops-lawsuit-over-california-election-procedures). Cover photo: U.S. federal courthouse in Los Angeles, by Daniel L. Lu, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).