DOJ Confirms High Error Rate in California Voter List, Courts Reject Ballot Challenges
The DOJ acknowledged a 42% error rate in its California voter list used in 2026 election disputes.
Why it matters: This admission highlights risks of wrongly challenging voter eligibility in election litigation, crucial for legal professionals managing such cases.
- DOJ's 2026 California voter list flagged 20,930 suspected noncitizens.
- UCLA found 8,880 (42%) names didn’t match official California voter registrations.
- A DOJ attorney admitted the list had a ‘high error rate’ in federal court.
- Courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, denied DOJ’s bid to exclude these ballots in late 2026.
In the 2026 midterm elections, the Department of Justice (DOJ) created a list identifying 20,930 California individuals as possible noncitizen voters, a designation that could remove ballots from the count. However, analysis by the UCLA Voting Rights Project revealed 8,880 of those names (42%) were absent from California’s voter rolls, indicating major inaccuracies.
The list also wrongly flagged at least 22 U.S. citizens and nearly 7,500 naturalized citizens as noncitizens. During federal court proceedings, a DOJ attorney conceded to U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson that the list’s error rate was substantial: “That is a fair statement.” This admission raised serious concerns about the list's reliability in election challenges, as documented by Bloomberg Law.
Judicial responses strongly rejected efforts to discard ballots based on this list. On October 30, 2026, a federal appeals court denied the DOJ’s request to invalidate ballots linked to the flagged individuals, citing the risk of disenfranchising lawful voters, according to AP News. The next day, a federal judge blocked DOJ attempts to pressure election workers regarding these ballots, per Axios. Finally, on November 2, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene, effectively upholding lower court rulings and denying DOJ’s motion to exclude about 20,000 ballots, as reported by AP News.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the DOJ’s flawed voter list and expressed frustration with the judiciary’s swift refusals to support the DOJ’s emergency motions, underscoring judicial caution in election eligibility disputes without clear proof, based on AP News.
By the numbers:
- 20,930 — names on DOJ’s suspected noncitizen voter list in California
- 42% — percentage of flagged names not found in California voter rolls (UCLA)
- About 20,000 — ballots linked to challenged voters that courts refused to discard
Yes, but: Some legal analysts warn that while the DOJ’s list had errors, efforts to verify voter eligibility remain important to protect election integrity, highlighting challenges in balancing accuracy with enforcement.
What's next: Further scrutiny and legal challenges over voter eligibility lists are expected in upcoming elections, with potential reforms to data verification processes.