A new review has raised serious questions about a list of possible noncitizen voters in California compiled by the Trump administration. More than four in ten names on the list do not match anyone in the state’s current voter records, according to a court filing made on Saturday.
The review also found that thousands of US citizens may have been wrongly flagged as ineligible to vote. The findings add to a growing legal fight over the federal government’s efforts to identify people it suspects of voting illegally.
Two data analysts from the University of California, Los Angeles, examined 20,930 names that the US Department of Justice had identified as possible noncitizen voters. The department had asked California election officials to separate ballots linked to those names during the vote count on Election Day.
The analysis was submitted by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, known as CHIRLA, and members of UCLA’s Voting Rights Project. The groups are challenging the government’s methods and say the list could put eligible voters at risk.
According to the court filing, 8,880 names, or about 42% of the total, did not match anyone in California’s current voter records. The researchers also found at least 22 people on the list who are US citizens. They said many other names may belong to citizens who were wrongly flagged.
Xavier Becerra, a Democratic candidate for California governor and an adviser to the UCLA project, joined the filing. The plaintiffs argue that the list could prevent eligible citizens from having their votes counted.
Several judges have already rejected the administration’s demand to separate the ballots. Their rulings raised legal concerns about the plan and its possible effects on voting rights.
The Trump administration had opposed sharing the list with the groups, describing the request as an effort to obtain information without a proper reason. A federal judge ordered the government on Friday to provide the list to the plaintiffs, allowing the wider review to take place.
Bill Essayli, the US attorney leading the federal case in Los Angeles, dismissed the findings on Saturday. He called the report false and accused CHIRLA of being an activist group.
President Donald Trump also criticized the court rulings. In a social media post, he claimed that the Justice Department had found 20,000 potentially fraudulent votes, with the number possibly reaching hundreds of thousands or even millions. He questioned why judges had rejected efforts to address what he described as election fraud.
The administration has also challenged voter records in Washington state. It urged officials there to remove about 400 people it identified as possible noncitizens. State election officials said that list was unreliable and included a person who had voted in the 1990s.
The Justice Department has warned California election officials that they could face criminal liability if noncitizens vote. It has also issued subpoenas to election offices as part of its efforts to investigate the issue.
Local officials say the federal government has provided its lists shortly before Election Day. They argue that this leaves little time to check each name carefully before taking action.
State and local officials must follow legal rules when removing voters from registration lists. They say the checks require time and reliable records. A rushed review could lead to eligible voters being wrongly removed or having their ballots challenged.
A federal judge in California ordered the Justice Department on Friday to stop sending certain demands to state officials. The administration appealed the decision on Saturday. Several counties had already carried out quick checks and found errors in the federal list.
CHIRLA and the UCLA project filed a separate lawsuit in early October over the use of federal immigration data to challenge state voter records. Their case points to problems in other states where government data wrongly identified citizens as possible noncitizens.
The researchers said their review found that nearly 7,500 naturalized US citizens in California were highly likely to have been incorrectly flagged under the government’s method. Naturalized citizens have the same right to vote as other US citizens when they meet the legal requirements.
The analysis also raised concerns about missing voter identification numbers. The researchers said the government appeared to have removed this key information from the list, making it harder for election officials to confirm identities and identify duplicate entries.
The Justice Department maintains that it must act to protect election integrity. Department spokesperson Kiersten V. Pels said that ballots cast by ineligible voters could undermine the votes of eligible Americans. She said the department would continue its efforts to protect lawful voting.
The dispute now centers on the accuracy of the federal data, the legal limits of the government’s demands and the risk of wrongly challenging eligible voters. Further court decisions may determine how election officials can use the list and whether the administration can continue its current approach.
