The DOJ wades into elections with unprecedented cases

What it claims

Claims

1. 1TrueThe Department of Justice has pressured states to investigate allegations of illegal voting by noncitizens.The sources show the DOJ demanded that states act on its lists of alleged noncitizen voters, including a 48-hour deadline for Los Angeles County to investigate about 20,000 names and letters to five states. A federal judge later blocked some of these threats, but that does not undo the pressure that was applied as of 2026-10-26.6 sources →
2. 2TrueThe Department of Justice has moved to intervene in Alaska's upcoming U.S. Senate election.As of 2026-10-26, the DOJ had already moved to intervene in Alaska's Senate election by filing a federal lawsuit (around Oct 22-23) to block certification if Sen. Dan Sullivan lost narrowly, which multiple sources describe as an intervention in the race. The judge dismissed that lawsuit on Nov 1 and the DOJ said it would appeal, but that later development does not make the claim false as of the posting date.6 sources →
3. 3TrueThe U.S. Justice Department delivered a thumb drive containing a list of 20,000 names to Los Angeles County election officials with a 48-hour deadline to investigate them.Multiple tier-1 sources confirm the core of the claim: the Justice Department delivered a password-protected thumb drive with a list of about 20,000 names to Los Angeles County election officials and gave California a 48-hour deadline to review it or face legal action. The sources dispute whether the list is reliable, but that does not bear on whether the delivery and deadline happened, and the claim's timing matches the reporting.7 sources →

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4. 4TrueThe U.S. Justice Department sued the State of California and Los Angeles County to segregate ballots associated with 20,000 individuals identified as likely non-citizens.The sources confirm the DOJ sued California and Los Angeles County over about 20,000 voters it says are likely non-citizens, and sought to segregate or withhold their ballots until citizenship is verified. The claim matches the post's wording, and the post's remarks about a 48-hour deadline and the court fight are consistent with the sources.5 sources →

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5. 5TrueThe U.S. Justice Department has charged more than 113 alleged non-citizens with voting offenses across the country.As of October 19, 2026, the Justice Department said it had charged 113 people in 20 states with illegal voting and registration offenses over the prior seven weeks, which supports the claim's central figure and scope. The claim's 'more than 113' is a slight overstatement of the exact figure reported, and one DOJ spokesperson cited 112, but the difference is within rounding and does not change the verdict.6 sources →

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6. 6MixedThere were 140 million votes cast in the 2024 U.S. election.The official record puts 2024 presidential votes at about 155 million (Full Fact and CFR cite 155,238,302 and 156,302,318), so 140 million understates the total by roughly 10%. PBS's 'more than 140 million' is literally consistent with the record, and the Census CPS estimate (about 149.5 million) also exceeds 140 million, so the figure depends on the measure used.5 sources →

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7. 7Can’t tellOf 64 cases brought by the Justice Department related to non-citizen voting, 56 individuals are lawful permanent residents.The claim faithfully extracts the passage, which is the claimant's own review of 64 court files, so it cannot be verified from that. NBC's later review (Nov 1) finds that roughly three-quarters of about 200 prosecutions target lawful permanent residents, which is directionally consistent but a different sample, so it neither confirms nor refutes the specific 56-of-64 figure.4 sources →

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8. 8TrueA federal judge in Florida found the statute regarding voting by an alien to be unconstitutional.A federal judge in Florida, Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida, ruled on October 1, 2026 that 18 U.S.C. § 611, the federal law criminalizing noncitizen voting, is unconstitutional. The ruling is narrow: it applies only as-applied to defendant Chelsea Cox and does not bind other courts, which the claim's wording does not dispute.6 sources →

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9. 9MixedThe Justice Department has brought 64 cases involving non-citizen voting.The 64 figure matches NPR's count of 64 DOJ noncitizen-voting cases and Fox News's figure of 64 defendants charged in roughly the last five weeks, so the number is sourced. However, other DOJ-attributed totals in the sources are larger (104 charged since 2025, 112 to 113 people), so whether 64 is correct depends on whether the measure is recent cases or the cumulative total. The extraction faithfully reflects the post's 'these 64 cases'.6 sources →

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10. 10TrueVicky Bratt, a UK citizen, voted early in person in 2024 after registering through the New York DMV.The DOJ press release (primary) charges a British national named Vikki Bradt, a lawful permanent resident, with voting by an alien in a federal election, which matches the post's account of a UK citizen who voted in 2024; the name spelling differs (Bratt vs Bradt), but NPR's transcript and the DOJ release both use Bradt, so this looks like a transcription error. The early in-person voting and NY DMV registration appear only in the NPR transcript, which repeats the claimant's account and is not independent corroboration, and no source contradicts them. The charges are allegations, not established findings.5 sources →

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11. 11Can’t tellPamela Line has been a lawful permanent resident since 1982.Sources identify Pamele Arbués Line as a lawful permanent resident charged in a California voting case, which supports her LPR status. None of the sources states when she became a permanent resident, so the 1982 date that is the claim's central point cannot be checked.4 sources →

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12. 12TrueThe Department of Justice sued Alaska regarding voter confusion caused by two candidates named Dan Sullivan appearing on the ballot.The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Alaska election officials on October 22, 2026, arguing that voter confusion from two Dan Sullivans on the ballot could taint certification, which matches the claim as of the October 26 posting. The judge dismissed the suit on November 1, and DOJ has appealed, but that later development does not make the October 26 claim false.8 sources →

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13. 13TrueThe Department of Justice requested that Alaska delay certifying the election if the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses by a small margin, pending an investigation into voter confusion.The DOJ's October 22, 2026 lawsuit did ask a court to bar Alaska from certifying results if Sen. Dan S. Sullivan lost by a margin the votes for Daniel J. Sullivan could have changed, and to delay certification pending an investigation into voter confusion, as shown by Politico, CNBC, and FactCheck.org. The claim describes the request as it stood on 2026-10-26; a federal judge dismissed the suit on November 1, which does not make the October request false, and the DOJ has appealed.7 sources →

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14. 14TrueNon-citizen voting has never been found to be a major issue in elections.The claim, as extracted from the NPR Politics Podcast passage, is that non-citizen voting has never been found to be a major issue in elections. Multiple independent sources (Reuters, Brookings, BBC, Snopes, CNN, Migration Policy Institute, CEIR research) consistently report that non-citizen voting is rare and has not been found to be a major factor, while the only contrary study (Richman and Earnest, 2014) was widely refuted; the phrase 'never' is broad but the sources uniformly support the substance.9 sources →

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15. 15TrueThe Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the second Dan Sullivan could be on the ballot.Multiple reliable sources (AP, Alaska Public, Courthouse News order text, FactCheck.org, NYT) confirm the Alaska Supreme Court ruled on June 29, 2026 that Dan J. Sullivan, the second Dan Sullivan, must be included on the ballot, affirming the lower court. The claim's peripheral wording matches the passage; the court also remanded how his name would be listed, which the claim does not dispute.8 sources →

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16. 16TrueDonald Trump stated that he ordered the Department of Justice to file the lawsuit regarding the Alaska election.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (AP, The Hill, Politico, NBC, PBS, USA Today) report that Trump said Friday he directed the Justice Department to file the lawsuit over the Alaska Senate election, quoting him as saying "I'm the one that said do it." The claim matches the post's content and the sources; the filing date (Oct. 22) and the lawsuit's later dismissal by a federal judge do not make the claim false as of when it was made.8 sources →

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17. 17TruePam Bondi is the Attorney General of the United States.Pam Bondi is identified as the Attorney General of the United States in the provided search results, with information indicating her nomination by President-elect Donald Trump and swearing-in in early 2025.politifact: true · politifact: true · politifact: true · politifact: true · politifact: true · factcheck: true · factcheck: true10 sources →

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18. 18TrueThe Department of Justice has announced approximately 100 prosecutions for non-citizen voting.Multiple sources, including a DOJ spokesperson statement, put the number of people the DOJ has charged or announced in noncitizen or illegal voting cases at roughly 100 or more by October. The count includes registration offenses, and a Stanford-style analysis warns that cumulative press-release counts overstate distinct cases, so the figure is approximate rather than precise.6 sources →

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19. 19OpinionThe host says the accusations from President Trump and DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen about non-citizen voting do not seem to have been made in good faith.A judgement, not a statement of fact. It has no true or false answer.

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20. 20TrueMark Wayne Mullen is the Homeland Security Secretary.The sources show Markwayne Mullin (spelled "Mullen" in the claim and in his own White House transcript) was confirmed and sworn in as Homeland Security Secretary on March 24, 2026, and was still in the role on the 2026-10-26 posting date. The claim's spelling of the surname differs from the official spelling, but it refers to the same person, so this is a name-variant issue rather than a substantive error.5 sources →

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21. 21TrueThe Department of Justice delivered a thumb drive containing 20,000 names to election officials.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources report that the DOJ delivered a password-protected thumb drive containing a list of about 20,000 names to Los Angeles County and California election officials. The claim matches the passage's wording, and the sources do not contradict it; officials refused to open the drive, but that does not change the delivery.6 sources →

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22. 22TrueThe Department of Justice filed lawsuits in California and Alaska regarding election law.The claim matches the post's own reference to 'these two lawsuits, California and Alaska,' and multiple independent sources confirm the DOJ filed suits in both states in October 2026, before the 2026-10-26 posting date. The Alaska suit was later dismissed by a federal judge (reported Nov 1-2), but that later development does not change the fact that the filings existed on the date of the claim.7 sources →

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23. 23PredictionThe host says the Justice Department's California and Alaska election lawsuits are very unlikely to succeed.Can't be checked yet.

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24. 24TrueAfter the 2020 election, Attorney General William Barr stated that the Justice Department found no evidence of voter fraud that would affect the election outcome.Multiple independent reliable outlets, including AP (the original interview), Reuters/BBC, NPR, NYT, and PBS, report that Attorney General William Barr said on December 1, 2020 that the Justice Department had found no evidence of voter fraud on a scale that could change the 2020 election outcome. The claim faithfully reflects the passage, and the sources' wording ("widespread" fraud) is consistent with it.9 sources →

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25. 25TrueThe Department of Justice notified counties last week that it intends to send election observers to their locations.Multiple sources show the DOJ began notifying counties in the week of October 19-25, 2026, that it intends to send election monitors to their polling places, matching the claim as of the October 26 posting date. The extraction is faithful to the post, which said counties were receiving these notifications from the DOJ last week.6 sources →

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26. 26TrueA Democratic clerk in Colorado reported that their county received a DOJ monitoring notification while a neighboring Republican-led county did not.NPR reported on 2026-10-21 that Adams County, Colorado (Democratic clerk Josh Zygielbaum) received a DOJ monitoring notification while the Republican clerk in neighboring Weld County did not, and Rawstory and KPBS carried the same account. A Sacramento Bee report of 2026-10-22 says Douglas County was also notified, which the claim does not address, but the Weld comparison as claimed is supported.6 sources →

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27. 27TrueThe Department of Justice monitored primaries during the 2026 election year.The DOJ monitored primaries in 2026, as shown by a DOJ press release on Florida and Wyoming primary monitoring and multiple reports (Reuters, AP, PBS) on monitors deployed during the primary season; the post's own remark that the monitoring was 'pretty uneventful' generally, aside from the Wyoming incident, is consistent with the sources. The claim is a faithful paraphrase of the passage and is graded normally.4 sources →

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28. 28MixedThe Republican governor of Wyoming stated that DOJ monitors were aggressive and disregarded state election law during the 2026 primaries.The governor's statement that DOJ monitors were 'aggressive' and 'irregular' is well supported by multiple tier-1 and tier-2 sources. However, the sources attribute the 'complete disregard for our state laws' language to Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee, while Gov. Gordon said the monitors' behavior 'seemed to exceed what the authority that Congress had given them was,' so the claim that the governor said they disregarded state election law is not supported.7 sources →

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29. 29TrueThe Department of Justice is sending 1,000 election monitors to polling places in 2026.Multiple tier-1 sources on or before 2026-10-26 report that the DOJ planned to deploy about 1,000 election monitors for the 2026 midterms, which matches the claim. The sources describe this as a plan, and Reuters and AP both say the DOJ spokesperson confirmed it, so the claim holds as of the posting date.7 sources →

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30. 30Can’t tellThere has been an incident involving illegal voting by noncitizens in Wyoming.Sources do confirm a real Wyoming case of illegal noncitizen voting: Maksim Shakirov pleaded guilty in federal court to voting as a noncitizen in the 2024 election. But the claim departs from the passage, which refers to the 'one we've already seen in Wyoming' as the Governor's complaint about aggressive DOJ monitors, not noncitizen voting, so the claim is not graded as the poster's statement.5 sources →

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31. 31TrueTrent McCotter is the acting number two official at the U.S. Justice Department.Multiple sources, including a DOJ staff profile and AP coverage from October 19, 2026, identify Trent McCotter as Acting Deputy Attorney General, the Justice Department's number two official, as of the 2026-10-26 posting date. The extracted claim matches the passage's wording and no source contradicts it.6 sources →

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Sources

Related posts

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• Apple News Today · Oct 21, 2026The Guardian’s Ashifa Kassam takes us inside Europe’s “autumn of discontent.” The Justice Department has charged 28 people in California with election crimes and is seeking to block roughly 20,000 ballots from being counted in the midterm elections despiteSays something close: The Department of Justice has charged more than a hundred non-citizens across about 20 states with voting and registration crimes in recent weeks.3 mixed16 true
• Up First from NPR · Oct 20, 20261Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is taking his concerns about delayed U.S. weapons and intelligence directly to Congress as lawmakers in both parties question President Trump’s approach to Russia. Republicans are spending heavily to defend traditionally conservative terriSays something close: 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.19 true
• The Rubin Report · Oct 20, 2026Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" gives a first look at the Justice Department charging 28 lawful permanent residents in California with offenses related to illegal voting, fraudulent registrations, and false statements as part of Operation Protect the Vote; Elon Musk pledging to Says something close: The Justice Department has charged 113 people in 20 states with illegal voting and illegal registration offenses over the last several weeks.1 can’t tell18 true
• The John Phillips Show · Oct 17, 2026Watch The Show At http://johnnydontlike.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Says something close: The Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Bill Isaley sent a letter and a thumb drive to Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Dean Logan and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber alleging there are 20,000 illegal ballots in Los Angeles County.7 mixed6 can’t tell30 true
• Philip Teresi · Oct 16, 2026Trump is increasing pressure on Newsom by targeting a foundation linked to the California governor, turning it into another front in the escalating political battle between national Republicans and one of the Democratic Party's highest-profile figures. Please Like, Comment andSays something close: The Department of Justice provided the Los Angeles County Registrar's office with a password-protected thumb drive containing a list of names the federal government believes are likely non-citizens who were sent a vote-by-mail ballot.3 mixed1 can’t tell20 true
• Speaker Mike Johnson · Oct 28, 2026Democrats have made their position clear: ✖️NO to voter ID ✖️NO to proof you are American ✖️NO to election security They would rather let noncitizens vote illegally in our country than take simple actions to secure our elections! The American people deserve better and to know tSays something close: Non-citizens are illegally voting in elections.1 false2 mixed1 true
• Speaker Mike Johnson · Oct 28, 2026Democrat officials want illegals voting in our elections! That’s why they have ALLOWED this to happen in many states across the country. NOT ON OUR WATCH. Republicans believe Americans should decide American elections, not illegal aliens.Says something close: The Department of Justice charged 48 foreign nationals with illegally voting in American elections and registering to cast ballots.1 false1 true
• The Fox News Rundown · Oct 23, 2026As legal battles intensify ahead of the midterms, federal efforts to challenge state voter rolls are sparking fierce debate over state sovereignty versus federal oversight. FOX News Sunday anchor Shannon Bream discusses the Democratic countersuit against the administration, why jSays something close: The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit seeking to block the counting of 20,000 non-citizen ballots in California.2 false6 mixed6 can’t tell23 true
• The Briefing with Jen Psaki · Oct 23, 2026October 22, 2026; 9pm: This episode examines Trump-era corruption, attacks on women seeking power, election threats, and the midterm fight in Mississippi. Guests Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Sarah Longwell, and Scott Colom discuss misogyny, voter backlash, voting rights, and how DemocSays something close: Donald Trump pressured Bill Barr to use the Justice Department to support claims of election fraud in 2020.1 false4 mixed1 can’t tell39 true