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.
Posted by The John Phillips Show, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict5 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The John Phillips ShowOct 17, 2026
The federal government's allegation that about 20,000 registered California voters are likely noncitizens is well documented across sources.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
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What was said
… Tickets furnished by Nita Lander Concerts. Good luck dialing. Alright, let's get back to California Attorney General Babathi Banta. Babathi Banta sat down with Ashley Zavala to explain why the state of California does not want to open up a thumb drive sent by the feds alleging that 20,000 people who got a ballot should not be registered to vote because they are not citizens. Let's hear what Babathi has to say. That governs them. They've been ordered by a court to not cross-check state voter rolls against their database and then demand that states remove people from their voter rolls. Why? …
The John Phillips Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Secretary of State Weber's office stated that the DOJ did not provide the list to her office; the thumb drive was delivered to Los Angeles County's registrar instead.[3][5][6]
Contradicts. CNN reports the DOJ dropped off the thumb drive with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office, and Weber said the DOJ never provided her a list when it sent its letter.[5][7]
Supports. The DOJ sued California over a list of more than 20,000 people the federal government says are likely noncitizens who were sent mail-in ballots for the November 2026 election.[1][4][8][9]
Supports. Reuters reports the DOJ letter was written by acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter and addressed to Secretary of State Shirley Weber, and it accompanied a password-protected thumb drive.[2]
Context. The Hill and Politico describe the drive as provided to the state or to both Weber and Logan, so reporting on the recipient is inconsistent across outlets.[8][9]
Context. The SOS and critics say the government has provided no evidence for the 'likely noncitizen' figures, while the DOJ and DHS framed them as indicators from data analysis, so the 20,000 figure is an unverified federal allegation.[1][3][4]
Sources
9 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 2 tier 2, 2 not rated, 1 tier 1
- 1Trump administration sues California over voter rolls | AP Newsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Exclusive-US Justice Department threatens California over alleged noncitizen voters, letter showsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Issues ...sos.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, context
- 4United 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, context
- 5Trump admin files ‘long shot’ lawsuit after California wouldn ...cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 6California sued by Trump administration over demand to purge 20,000 voters from rolls • Rhode Island Currentrhodeislandcurrent.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 7Trump’s DOJ Sues California Over Non-Citizen Voter List (3)news.bloomberglaw.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 8DOJ sues California after pushing state to match voter list with USB ...thehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports, context
- 9DOJ sues California, demands it purge voter rolls for ...politico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Department of Justice delivered a thumb drive to Los Angeles County containing the names of 20,000 people on California's voter rolls who the federal government says are likely non-citizens.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 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
- Over 20,000 non-citizens are registered to vote in California.Can’t tell
- The federal government filed a lawsuit alleging that 20,000 people in California have ballots who should not have them.True