The federal government previously claimed there were 190,000 ineligible voters in California before reducing the figure to 20,000.
Posted by The John Phillips Show, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The John Phillips ShowOct 17, 2026
Multiple sources, including an ABC7 explainer and The Business Standard, report that federal officials earlier flagged as many as 190,000 potentially ineligible California voters and later narrowed the figure to about 20,000, matching the claim.
Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.
What was said
… Bella Saley will send you an email right now. They i'm not i'm not sure if that what's on the thumb drive is legit or not, but why wouldn't you at least read it? Filed a lawsuit where they made claims and still haven't shared with us any information. They just have a conclusory statement that these 20,000 people, when it was 190,000 before, without any explanation of why it was reduced to 20,000 and why the 20,000 even exists, and with the context of Nevada, where they claimed there were 16,000 ineligible voters, and they ended up being zero, without any explanation for that either. So, do we have our doubts? Yes. Are we suspect? Yes. …
The John Phillips Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. ABC7 reports that federal officials earlier this summer flagged as many as 190,000 potentially ineligible voters, and that the estimate has since narrowed to approximately 20,000.[4]
Supports. The Business Standard reports the federal government had accused California of 190,000 ineligible voters on its rolls, then revised the figure to 20,000 before filing its emergency lawsuit.[5]
Supports. The DOJ's October 15 complaint and subsequent coverage center on a list of over 20,000 likely noncitizens, consistent with the later figure.[1][2][3]
Context. Sources do not document why the figure was reduced, which the claimant criticized; the extracted claim does not assert a reason, so this does not defeat it.[4][5]
Sources
5 sources: 2 primary, 1 tier 2, 2 not rated
- 1United States Sues California After Determining More Than 20,000 Likely Noncitizens Are Registered to Vote in the Golden Statejustice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2FILED - cdn.ca9.uscourts.govcdn.ca9.uscourts.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Justice Department sues California, claiming it's mailing ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4DOJ alleges noncitizen voting in California. Here's what evidence ...abc7news.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 5US judge rejects Trump administration's interference in California ...tbsnews.net · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The federal government told the California Secretary of State in July that 190,000 people were likely ineligible to vote.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 federal government filed a lawsuit alleging that 20,000 people in California have ballots who should not have them.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 previously claimed 14,000 individuals on Nevada's voter rolls were ineligible to vote.Mixed