Justice Department non-citizen voting list flawed, LA officials say, citing 39% US-born rate

Los Angeles County says a 'high percentage' of names on the federal list of suspected non-citizen voters are native-born US citizens, deepening a legal standoff over election integrity.

By LineZotpaper

Published20 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Los Angeles County election officials revealed in court filings on Tuesday that a preliminary analysis of the 20,000 names on a Justice Department list of suspected non-citizen voters found a 'high percentage' of people born in the United States. The finding adds to concerns about the accuracy of the list, which the department used as the basis for a lawsuit against California election officials last week.

In a court declaration filed as part of the federal lawsuit, Aman Bhullar, an official in the Los Angeles County clerk and recorder's office, detailed the findings of a sample of 200 individuals on the list. Of the records where birthplace data was available, 38.9 percent indicated they were born in the US. The declaration further noted that 43 percent of the sampled individuals had a cancelled voter registration record, 71 percent had never voted, and only 86 of the 200 had been mailed a ballot for the current election cycle. Of the total 20,000 names supplied to the county, just 7,000 could be matched to an address within Los Angeles County.

The dispute began when the Department of Justice sent the list to California's secretary of state and Los Angeles County, demanding they segregate ballots from anyone on the list within 48 hours unless citizenship could be verified. California officials refused, arguing the list was unreliable. The Justice Department subsequently sued.

The federal government has defended its position. R Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general, acknowledged in a press conference on Monday that some names on the list might belong to citizens. 'We're not perfect, and that's why we've asked California to cooperate with us,' he said. Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels emphasised that listing a US birthplace on a voter registration form does not automatically prove citizenship under federal law. 'Just because an alien says on a form that they are a citizen doesn't make them eligible to vote. California cannot facilitate the violation of federal law,' she said, accusing the state of 'willful blindness.'

The Department of Homeland Security, which compiled the list, has resisted providing the methodology behind its matching process. Experts have warned the system is error-prone, echoing a recent incident in Nevada where an initial DHS estimate of 16,000 suspected non-citizens was whittled to a list of 185, all of whom were subsequently verified as citizens by state officials.

Analysis

Why This Matters

The reliability of federal voting lists directly affects the voting rights of US citizens, with a flawed list risking disenfranchising eligible voters.
The legal standoff tests the limits of federal power to direct state and local election operations.
If the system is found to be systematically generating false positives, confidence in federal election integrity efforts could be undermined.

Background

Election integrity has become a fiercely partisan issue. The Trump administration has made identifying non-citizens on voter rolls a priority, directing the DHS to cross-reference immigration data with state voter registration databases. These data matching efforts are notoriously complex. Differences in name spelling, date formats, and a lack of reliable citizenship data in voter files can lead to high false-positive rates, particularly for naturalised citizens and individuals with common names. The handling of such lists is now subject to litigation, with California arguing it has a duty not to purge voters without strong evidence.

Key Perspectives

Los Angeles County Officials: The list is deeply flawed and cannot be relied upon. A high percentage of those flagged are native-born US citizens, and many more have inactive or cancelled registrations. Segregating their ballots without due process would violate state law and voter rights. Justice Department: The law prohibits non-citizens from voting. The department provided the list as a tool for verification, not as a final determination. States have a responsibility to independently verify citizenship and cannot ignore evidence of potential illegal registration. Voting Rights Advocates and Experts: The matching process is fundamentally broken and over-identifies minorities and naturalised citizens. Without transparency over DHS methodology, these lists will continue to produce mass errors, and voters will bear the burden of proving their citizenship.

What to Watch

The early rulings in the federal lawsuit, which could set a tone for how similar disputes are handled in other states.
Whether the court demands the DHS release its full matching methodology for independent review.
The response of other states receiving similar lists from the Justice Department.

Sources

DoJ’s suspected non-citizens list includes ‘high percentage’ of those born in US, LA officials say · World news | The Guardian

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 5 supported.

Show each claim

Partly supportedThe Justice Department list is flawed, with 39% of names indicating US birth.World news | The Guardian: ““Among the records for which birthplace information was meaningfully reported, 38.9% indicated that they were born in the United States,””
Partly supportedLos Angeles County says a high percentage of names on the list are native-born US citizens.World news | The Guardian: ““Just because someone listed a US birthplace on their voter registration form it didn’t mean they were a citizen.””
Partly supportedThe county’s Tuesday court filing reported a preliminary analysis of the 20,000 names.World news | The Guardian: “The statement, made in court papers, raises further questions about the reliability of a list of 20,000 people the justice department provided to election officials in Los Angeles last week.”
SupportedOf records with available birthplace data, 38.9% indicated US birth.World news | The Guardian: ““Among the records for which birthplace information was meaningfully reported, 38.9% indicated that they were born in the United States,””
SupportedForty-three percent of the sampled individuals had a cancelled voter-registration record.World news | The Guardian: “Forty-three per cent of those on the list had a voter registration record that had been cancelled, Bhullar said in his declaration.”
SupportedSeventy-one percent of the sampled individuals had never voted.World news | The Guardian: “Seventy-one per cent of those in the sample never voted,”
Partly supportedEighty-six people had been mailed a ballot for the current election cycle.World news | The Guardian: “and 86 people had been mailed a ballot this year.”
Partly supportedOnly 7,000 of the 20,000 names could be matched to an address in Los Angeles County.World news | The Guardian: “Of the 20,000 names delivered to Los Angeles county, only about 7,000 people had an address in the county, according to the filing.”
Partly supportedCalifornia officials refused the request, arguing that the list was unreliable.World news | The Guardian: “California election officials refused and the Department of Justice sued them on Thursday.”
SupportedMcCotter said at Monday’s press conference, “We're not perfect, and that's why we've asked California to cooperate with us.”World news | The Guardian: ““There may be some names on there who, it turns out, ultimately are citizens. We’re not perfect, and that’s why we’ve asked California to cooperate with us,” he said at a Monday press conference.”
SupportedPels said, “Just because an alien says on a form that they are a citizen doesn't make them eligible to vote,” and accused California of “willful blindness.”World news | The Guardian: ““Just because an alien says on a form that they are a citizen doesn’t make them eligible to vote,” she said. “California cannot facilitate the violation of federal law. We notified California that noncitizens are likely registered to vote, and we asked the state to independently verify the citizenship of any ballots cast by people on a list that we provided. It refused to do so. Federal law doesn’t permit this willful blindness,” she added.”
Partly supportedNevada’s initial DHS estimate of 16,000 suspected non-citizens was reduced to 185, all subsequently verified as citizens by state officials.World news | The Guardian: “In July, it accused Nevada of having as many as 16,000 non-citizens on its voter rolls. DHS officials later sent Nevada election officials a list of 185 people it believed were non-citizens. Nevada officials responded by investigating the list and said all 185 were in fact citizens.”