Five States Received Justice Department Voter and Ballot Demands, Democrats Tell Court as Judge Boasberg Prepares to Rule
The Justice Department has identified five states that received some form of its demands concerning specific voters or ballots ahead of Tuesday's election, according to a Saturday court filing by Democratic Party committees suing the Trump administration in Washington.
The states are California, Washington, Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the plaintiffs wrote in a 25-page supplemental brief filed Oct. 31 in DSCC v. Trump, which The Digital Free Press reviewed. Chief Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered the government to respond by Sunday, Nov. 1, and said he will rule by Monday, Nov. 2.
What the New Filings Show
On Oct. 29, Boasberg ordered the government to answer one interrogatory, covering the period from July 1, 2026, to the present, by noon on Oct. 30. In a one-page notice filed that day, government lawyers told the court they had served the plaintiffs' counsel with "objections, responses, and a list of States." The list itself was not filed on the public docket.
The plaintiffs' Saturday brief describes the answer as "narrow." It says the response "indicated that five States" had "been sent some form of a demand," but that the government has not been required to say which states could be next. The brief also says the government "pointedly declined" the court's invitation to end the dispute by filing a notice that it would not engage in the challenged conduct during the election.
The plaintiffs are the DSCC, the DCCC, the Democratic Governors Association, the Nevada State Democratic Party, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and one registered voter. They are asking for a nationwide order barring the government from demanding that officials remove voters or set aside ballots. Alternatively, they asked the court to cover at least California, Washington and Nevada, where they say the record is strongest.
The brief also cites an Oct. 29 letter from Justice Department official R. Trent McCotter to the Wisconsin Elections Commission about preserving election records. The plaintiffs describe it as part of "a fresh round of warning letters" that mention criminal penalties.
The Department's Position on Ballot Demands
The department has argued that the case should be dismissed at this stage. In its Oct. 28 opposition, government lawyers wrote that the letters "are not self-executing" and that the department "would need to seek an order from an Article III court to compel any state or locality to do anything at all."
The government also argued that the plaintiffs lack standing because any harm depends on "a speculative chain of hypotheticals." It cited the federal law that makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, 18 U.S.C. § 611, and said its "compelling interest in combating voter fraud" outweighs the plaintiffs' claimed injuries.
Boasberg's ruling is due the day before Election Day. Separate challenges to the department's actions are pending in federal courts in California and Washington State.
Sources: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, DSCC et al. v. Trump et al., No. 1:26-cv-3674 (JEB): Oct. 29, 2026 minute order; Defendants' Notice of Compliance, ECF No. 29 (Oct. 30, 2026): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.297829/gov.uscourts.dcd.297829.29.0.pdf ; Plaintiffs' Supplemental Brief, ECF No. 30 (Oct. 31, 2026): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.297829/gov.uscourts.dcd.297829.30.0_1.pdf ; Defendants' Response, ECF No. 25 (Oct. 28, 2026): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.297829/gov.uscourts.dcd.297829.25.0.pdf ; docket: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74994590/dscc-v-trump/ . Cover photo: Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building by APK via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
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