The federal government sent a letter to California stating that 20,000 people on the voter rolls were likely ineligible to vote.
Posted by The John Phillips Show, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 93%
The John Phillips ShowOct 17, 2026
The federal government's October 13, 2026 letters to California officials, reported by the DOJ, Reuters, AP and others, stated that about 20,000 registered voters were 'likely' noncitizens and therefore ineligible to vote, which matches the claim.
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What was said
… They told us in July that, uh, the Secretary of State the federal government told the Secretary of State in July that there were 190,000 people that they believed, uh, were likely to be ineligible. Uhm, and then a couple days ago they sent us a letter saying, "Oh, it's 20,000." So what happened to the other 170,000? No explanation. And what is the basis for thinking this 20,000 are ineligible? …
The John Phillips Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The DOJ's October 15, 2026 press release states that more than 20,000 people who are likely aliens are registered to vote in California, and that the complaint followed a letter to state officials.[3]
Supports. Reuters reports that in an October 13 letter the Justice Department demanded California not count ballots from about 20,000 registered voters 'who federal agencies reasonably believe are likely noncitizens' without first verifying their citizenship.[1]
Supports. AP and the San Francisco Chronicle report that the letters, sent by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter to Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County's registrar, targeted roughly 20,000 alleged noncitizen voters, with the department describing them as likely ineligible.[2][4]
Context. California officials questioned the accuracy of the federal list and refused to set aside the ballots, and a federal court later rejected the DOJ's attempt to halt the counting, which bears on the list's reliability rather than whether the letter made the claim.[5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 3 not rated
- 1Explainer: How Trump's noncitizen voter lists could affect the midtermsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2California election officials rattled by DOJ demand to ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Justice Department Sues State of California over Voter Listjustice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4DOJ says California must respond to voter fraud claims ...sfchronicle.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Court Halts DOJ Attempt to Disenfranchise California Voters ...naacp.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 6What local election officials found in Trump’s new claims about California voterscalmatters.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- 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 told the California Secretary of State in July that 190,000 people were likely ineligible to vote.True
- The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California claiming there are 20,000 non-citizens on the state's voter rolls.True
- Over 20,000 non-citizens are registered to vote in California.Can’t tell