The Trump administration sent a list of voters to California for removal from voter rolls.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict6 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
Deadline: White HouseOct 20, 2026
Multiple sources report that the Trump administration (DOJ) sent California officials a list of about 20,000 registered voters it alleges are likely noncitizens and demanded they be removed or have ballots set aside, which the state refused; the claim as extracted matches this, and the list was sent October 13, before the October 20 posting.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Number two, what we have seen just recently in California, right? We are watching them in real time practice in California how you can force a state through threats and intimidation and litigation to disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters and disregard state law because Donald Trump sends you a list or his administration sends you a list of people they want removed, and if they are able to pull that off, that will be a powerful tool in the post-election, and then this is number three, right, where they are essentially trying to commission hackers within the administration to figure out ways to infiltrate voting …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. CNN and Reuters report the Justice Department sent letters to California in October demanding the state set aside ballots of about 20,000 people it believes are likely noncitizens, with the October 13 letter cited specifically.[1][2]
Supports. Bloomberg Law and the States Newsroom piece report the DOJ sent California officials a list of roughly 20,000 registered voters it believes are noncitizens and gave the state 48 hours to act on it.[3][4]
Supports. LAist and the Yahoo/9th Circuit report describe the DOJ providing Los Angeles elections officials a list of people it calls likely noncitizens, which local officials declined to remove from rolls.[5][6]
Contradicts. Sources describe the list as flawed and the state as refusing to remove names; the DOJ's list was not carried out as a removal, so 'remove from voter rolls' overstates the completed action, though the claim concerns sending the list for removal.[7][8]
Context. A federal court (9th Circuit) dismissed the administration's request to set aside ballots as of October 27, and an analysis found over 40% of listed names do not match the state's voter file; these later developments do not change the October 20 state of affairs regarding the list being sent.[5][7]
Sources
8 sources: 2 tier 2, 6 not rated
- 1Inside the Trump administration’s lists of alleged noncitizen ...cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 2Explainer-How Trump's noncitizen voter lists could affect the midtermsrmb.reuters.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Last-minute Trump DOJ suit in California targeting ...newsfromthestates.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Trump Administration Sues California Over Voter ...news.bloomberglaw.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 59th Circuit dismisses Trump admin request to remove 20K ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 6DOJ voter fraud lawsuitlaist.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Over 40% Of Names On DOJ List Of Alleged Noncitizens Are Not On Calif. Voter Rolls, Analysis Findshuffpost.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, context
- 8Analysis says DOJ list troubledarkansasonline.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Trump administration is conducting efforts to identify noncitizen voters nationwide.True
- The federal government sent a thumb drive to the California Secretary of State alleging that 20,000 people registered to vote in California are not citizens.Mixed
- The federal government sent a letter to California stating that 20,000 people on the voter rolls were likely ineligible to vote.True
- The Trump administration sent a thumb drive to Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan's office containing a list of likely non-citizen registered voters and a sticky note with a password.True
- The Trump administration flagged 16,000 voters in Nevada as non-citizens.Mixed