The Trump administration filed a lawsuit asking a court to block Los Angeles County from counting approximately 20,000 ballots until the voters' citizenship status is proven.
Posted by The John Phillips Show, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict1 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The John Phillips ShowOct 17, 2026
The core claim holds: the Justice Department sued on October 15, 2026, asking a court to stop counting about 20,000 flagged voters' ballots until citizenship is verified. The claim's framing as an action against Los Angeles County is only partly accurate, because the suit targets California and the list covers voters statewide, with many in LA County.
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
… That way, you don't have millions of ballots floating around in the ether. Well, let's see what this new lawsuit from the DOJ is all about and how our local and statewide electeds are reacting to it. Here's a report from CBS in Los Angeles. The Trump administration is asking a court to force California not to count the votes of about 20,000 LA County voters until it can prove the voters in question are citizens. Well, Democrats are calling the lawsuit another Trump administration attack on democracy. CVSLA political reporters, I'm just here to explain what this means. That so close to election. Yeah, absolutely. …
The John Phillips Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The LA Times says the roughly 20,000 voters are statewide, with many in Los Angeles County, and Axios says the suit names California and two election officials. The claim's description of the 20,000 as LA County voters overstates the scope; NBC's headline does use the LA County framing.[3][4][5]
Supports. The Justice Department sued California on October 15, 2026, asking a federal court to bar the state from counting ballots from about 20,000 voters until their citizenship is verified.[1][3][4]
Context. A federal judge rejected the DOJ's request on October 28, and an appeals court rejected it on October 31; the Justice Department then took the matter to the Supreme Court on November 2. These later events do not make the October 17 claim false.[1][2][5]
Sources
5 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 3 not rated
- 1Trump administration takes California ballot fight to Supreme Courtreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Appeals court rejects Justice Department request for California to set aside disputed ballotsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Justice Dept. sues California, seeks to stop state from ...latimes.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4Trump sues California over voters rolls three weeks ...axios.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 5Federal judge tosses DOJ lawsuit over 20,000 LA County ...nbclosangeles.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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