Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan demanding they verify the citizenship of voters flagged by the federal government.
Posted by Philip Teresi, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 95%
Philip TeresiOct 16, 2026
Multiple tier-1 and tier-2 outlets (AP, Reuters, CBS, NBC) report that Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent letters dated Oct. 13 to Secretary of State Shirley Weber and LA County Registrar Dean Logan. The letters demanded that officials review a federal list of likely noncitizen voters, confirm citizenship, and segregate ballots that could not be verified.
Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.
What was said
… voter fraud ahead of November 3, and they're demanding that officials statewide prove the citizenship of thousands of voters that were flagged by the federal government as potential non-citizens, or they insist that the ballots be withheld or set aside. The acting deputy attorney general, Trent McCotter, is the one who made the demand. He sent letters to, ah, the Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, and Dean Logan, head of the Los Angeles County Registrar recorder County Clerk's Office. Experts are saying that this is questionable when votes are already being cast. Our ballots have been mailed. Letters reviewed by the Los Angeles Times again call on the officials to respond to the DOJ within 48 hours. …
Philip Teresi · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. AP reports that a letter sent Tuesday from acting Deputy AG Trent McCotter went to Secretary of State Shirley Weber, and that DOJ gave Los Angeles County officials a thumb drive of names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens.[1]
Supports. Reuters and NBC both report McCotter's letters demanded that officials review the list, confirm citizenship status, and segregate or withhold ballots, with NBC naming both Weber and LA County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan as recipients.[2][3]
Supports. CBS News quotes McCotter's letter requesting that officials confirm citizenship and segregate ballots for individuals whose citizenship cannot be confirmed, and the Sacramento Bee reports letters to Weber and Logan giving 48 hours to act on the flagged list.[4][5]
Context. The names came from a federal list of voters the government believes are likely noncitizens, which the claim describes as 'flagged by the federal government'; the list's methodology was not explained by DOJ, according to the Sacramento Bee.[5]
Sources
5 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1Justice Department threatens California over claim of noncitizen votersapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Exclusive-US Justice Department threatens California over alleged noncitizen voters, letter showsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Justice Department threatens legal action against ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Top U.S. DOJ official orders California to review list ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5DOJ gives California 48 hours to act on voter list | Sacramento Beesacbee.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Bill Isaley sent a letter and a thumb drive to Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Dean Logan and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber alleging there are 20,000 illegal ballots in Los Angeles County.True
- The Department of Justice demanded that California election officials prove the citizenship of thousands of voters flagged as potential non-citizens within 48 hours.True
- The Deputy Attorney General of the United States sent a letter to the state of California warning of potential criminal exposure for tabulating ballots identified by the administration as likely from non-citizens.True
- The Department of Justice provided the Los Angeles County Registrar's office with a password-protected thumb drive containing a list of names the federal government believes are likely non-citizens who were sent a vote-by-mail ballot.True
- The Department of Justice requested that California election officials review a list of potential non-citizens within 48 hours and segregate the ballots of those whose citizenship cannot be confirmed.True