The Department of Justice filed lawsuits in California and Alaska regarding election law.
Posted by The NPR Politics Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 95%
The NPR Politics PodcastOct 26, 2026
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.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… So there are legal cases here. Where do they go from here? What, like, how, how serious are these lawsuits, for instance? These two lawsuits, California and Alaska, do not seem destined to be successful. I just want to read you i put together a real quick list of things election law experts have said about the Alaska case, or how they've described it: Absolute bullocks, completely meritless, one of the dumbest lawsuits by the federal government I've ever …
The NPR Politics Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. AP reports that the Justice Department sued California over ballots of up to 20,000 people it says may be noncitizens and pursued a case in Alaska over Senate certification, both before the posting date.[1]
Supports. NPR's October 28 segment states that the Department of Justice has filed lawsuits in California and Alaska asking courts to intervene in how elections run.[3]
Supports. CNN's October 23 article describes a pair of DOJ lawsuits in Alaska and California seeking to intervene in the vote-counting process, with the Alaska filing aimed at blocking certification of the Senate race.[4]
Supports. Steve Vladeck's October 26 newsletter describes the Alaska suit filed in federal court in Anchorage and the California suit, both filed in October before the posting date.[5]
Supports. Reuters reports a revised Alaska complaint filed by the Justice Department, confirming the Alaska litigation as an ongoing DOJ lawsuit.[2]
Context. Later reporting (Reuters and NewsNation, Nov 1-2) says a federal judge dismissed the Alaska suit and courts rejected the DOJ's cases against both states; this post-dates the claim and does not make the filings false.[6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 tier 2, 3 not rated
- 1Trump turns stolen election claims from rhetoric to actionapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Trump administration bolsters bid to block Alaska Senate certificationreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Trump's Department of Justice is wading into elections in ...npr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Why Trump’s dubious election lawsuits in Alaska and ... - CNNcnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5259. DOJ's Preemptive Election Interferencestevevladeck.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Trump Justice Dept breaks with tradition to intervene in midtermsrmb.reuters.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Trump administration files election lawsuits in Alaska ...newsnationnow.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Justice Department sued California over voter roll maintenance.True
- The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California regarding the eligibility of voters on a list of 20,000 likely noncitizens.True
- The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit regarding the presence of Daniel Sullivan on the Alaska ballot.True
- The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against California regarding the counting of 20,000 illegal ballots.True
- The Department of Justice has moved to intervene in Alaska's upcoming U.S. Senate election.True