The federal government filed a lawsuit alleging that 20,000 people in California have ballots who should not have them.
Posted by The John Phillips Show, Checked
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The John Phillips ShowOct 17, 2026
The federal government (DOJ, working with DHS) did file a lawsuit on October 15, 2026, alleging that more than 20,000 registered California voters who are likely noncitizens have ballots they should not have.
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What was said
… You might like it, and you might be changed forever. Congressman Kevin Kiley joins us at the top of the hour. Right now, we're going through the sound of California Attorney General Bob Bonta in a sit down interview with Kcre's Ashley Zavala. Bobalina Bonta is addressing the new lawsuit from the federal government, alleging that there are 20,000 people with ballots in California that should not have them. The feds sent the Registrar of Voters in LA County, Dean Logan, and the Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, a thumb drive with a password, with a list, which they refused to read because Bobalina Bonta says, we don't have to, because Nevada looked at theirs …
The John Phillips Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The DOJ's own press release dated October 15, 2026 announces a complaint against California alleging that more than 20,000 likely noncitizens are registered to vote and/or voted in a federal election.[3]
Supports. Axios reported on October 15 that the Trump administration sued California and two election officials over about 20,000 suspected ineligible voters who received mail-in ballots, asking the court to prevent their ballots from being counted.[4]
Supports. Reuters and AP reporting describe the lawsuit as filed in mid-October and seeking to stop counting ballots from more than 20,000 flagged registered voters, consistent with the DOJ filing.[1][2]
Context. California officials said the claim was not backed by evidence, and U.S. District Judge David Carter later refused the administration's request to segregate the ballots and questioned the accuracy of the 20,000 figure; this bears on the allegation's merit, not on whether the lawsuit was filed.[5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 2 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Trump administration takes California ballot fight to Supreme Courtreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 29th Circuit questions DOJ demand to set aside 20,000 California mail ballotsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Central District of California | United States Sues ...justice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Trump sues California over voters rolls three weeks ...axios.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Judge declines to block California from counting alleged noncitizen voters’ ballots in DOJ lawsuitnbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 6Judge weighs whether California can count up to 20000 ...kron4.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California claiming there are 20,000 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls.True
- The federal government sent a letter to California stating that 20,000 people on the voter rolls were likely ineligible to vote.True
- The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against California regarding the counting of 20,000 illegal ballots.True
- The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California regarding the eligibility of voters on a list of 20,000 likely noncitizens.True
- The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit seeking to block the counting of 20,000 non-citizen ballots in California.True