Trump’s DOJ Sues to Block 20,000 California Mail Ballots With Voting Already Underway

WASHINGTON, DC – Trump’s Justice Department sued California on Thursday to block the state from counting mail ballots from 20,000 voters it claims are noncitizens, even though ballots are already in the hands of more than 20 million Californians. What’s more, the list of alleged noncitizen voters arrived on a thumb drive with its password written on a sticky note, and opening it would have violated Los Angeles County security protocols.

Trump’s numbers fall apart under the slightest scrutiny. Over the summer, DHS claimed 190,000 noncitizens were on California’s rolls. That figure has now shrunk to 20,000, and the administration never defended the original number when Secretary of State Shirley Weber pressed them on it. The new list was built by running California voters through federal immigration databases, which Weber says may violate a ruling earlier this month barring DOJ from doing exactly that. Additionally, federal law bars systematic voter roll purges within 90 days of an election.

“Trump’s DOJ claimed 190,000 noncitizens in July, now says 20,000, and still can’t prove a single one,” said Mally Smith, Try And Stop Us Senior Adviser. “They want a federal judge to cancel thousands of Californians’ ballots, in violation of federal law, based on back-of-the-napkin math from an administration that’s already proven it can’t count. They can’t win a single voter roll case, so they’re turning to desperate lawsuits to sow doubt before Election Day. Californians are already voting, their ballots are safe, and every eligible vote will be counted, no matter what Trump and his bush-league lawyers say.”