The Justice Department is seeking to block roughly 20,000 ballots from being counted in the midterm elections.
Posted by Apple News Today, Checked
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- 6 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
Apple News TodayOct 21, 2026
The 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 despite experts saying noncitizen voting is extremely rare. NPR’s Miles Parks discusses the implications of the move. …
As of 2026-10-21, the Justice Department was seeking to block California from counting roughly 20,000 mail ballots from voters it alleged are likely noncitizens; its lawsuit was filed October 15 and multiple tier1 outlets confirm the request.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What we found
Supports. Reuters reports the DOJ's lawsuit was filed October 15 and sought a temporary restraining order to block California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters it alleges are likely noncitizens.[1][5]
Supports. The Hill and NBC News report the DOJ asked the 9th Circuit to intervene in its lawsuit to temporarily block California from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, confirming the request was active before the claim date.[3][4]
Supports. AP reports the Justice Department sued California election officials in mid-October over the roughly 20,000 ballots it alleges belong to noncitizen voters, and an appeals court declined to rule on the matter in a 2-1 decision.[2][6]
Context. The request was later denied by District Judge David Carter on October 28 and the DOJ filed an appeal; these later developments post-date the claim and do not make it false as of October 21.[1][7][8][9]
Context. The claim's wording omits California, which the sources identify as the target state; this is a narrowing of detail, not a contradiction, and the claim is not described as nationwide.[1][4]
Sources
9 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 tier 1, 3 tier 2, 3 not rated
- 1Judge says Trump bid to set aside California ballots would ‘wreak havoc' on democracyreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Appeals court declines to block California from counting 20,000 disputed ballotsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3DOJ asks appeals court to intervene in California mail-in ...thehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 4Justice Department asks appeals court to intervene in California ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 5Judge Says Trump Bid to Set Aside California Ballots Would ‘Wreak Havoc' on Democracyusnews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Appeals court declines to block California from counting ...ap.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Judge Says US Bid to Block 20000 Votes Would 'Wreak ...bloomberg.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 8Judge denies DOJ bid to stop processing California ballotsnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 9California, feds continue election war after courts rebuke ...latimes.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post