Federal authorities charged 28 lawful permanent residents across California on Monday, October 19, with illegally registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections, according to the Justice Department. The charges mark the latest escalation in a high-stakes dispute between the Trump administration and California over voter roll integrity just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
According to federal prosecutors, 11 of the 28 defendants were arrested by Monday morning, with the remaining 17 expected to be taken into custody soon. The charged individuals are green card holders—foreign nationals legally permitted to reside in the United States but not authorized to vote. Federal authorities said 22 of the 28 are accused of voting in at least one election, including in the June primary, while five only registered to vote and one submitted a provisional ballot in 2020. All are charged with crimes including making false statements on naturalization applications and submitting fraudulent voter registrations.
The operation, which federal prosecutors dubbed "Operation Protect the Vote," involved all four U.S. attorneys' offices across California and was framed by the Justice Department as proof that the state's voter rolls are compromised. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said during a Monday news conference in Los Angeles that California's refusal to purge voters the administration flagged as potentially ineligible demonstrates the state is willfully obstructing justice. "This Department of Justice will not look the other way while non-citizens vote in federal elections," McCotter said. "Unfortunately, the same can't be said for California and L.A. County." The Justice Department also warned that local election workers who knowingly process ballots from noncitizens could face criminal prosecution.
The arrests stem from a broader federal effort that began in July when the Department of Homeland Security alleged California may have more than 190,000 noncitizen voters on its rolls. Last week, federal prosecutors narrowed that claim, identifying approximately 20,000 voters they described as "likely noncitizens" and giving California officials 48 hours to set those ballots aside pending citizenship verification. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County election officials rejected the demand, arguing the Justice Department provided no evidence that the identified voters were ineligible and noting that similar federal claims in other states have proven inaccurate upon scrutiny. In Nevada, for example, election officials found that all 185 people the Justice Department flagged as potential noncitizens were in fact citizens.
California officials and elected leaders characterized the arrests as voter intimidation timed to undermine confidence in the midterm elections. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the 28 defendants represent 0.0001 percent of the state's 23 million registered voters and noted that isolated cases are not evidence of systemic fraud. "If the allegations are true, they should be held accountable," Bonta said, but added that the Trump administration "has provided us with no facts of any ineligible voters, just a conclusory statement with no evidence to back it." Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the arrests "voter intimidation and a blatant attempt to undermine trust in our midterm elections."
Federal prosecutors said the charges are part of a nationwide operation. The Justice Department reported charging 113 noncitizens across 20 states with illegal voting and registration offenses over the previous seven weeks and said it has charged 156 people with voting fraud-related offenses since the current administration began. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said thousands of additional cases are under investigation nationwide. However, elections experts and state officials have repeatedly warned that the Trump administration has dramatically overstated voter fraud claims and revised downward its estimates of noncitizens on voter rolls as investigations proceed. There is no credible evidence of widespread noncitizen voting in U.S. elections, according to multiple sources.
The California arrests underscore the escalating conflict between the Trump administration and the state over federal authority to investigate and control elections. The Justice Department has filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking detailed voter information and has sued California specifically to prevent the counting of ballots it suspects may have been sent to noncitizens. The federal government has lost every such lawsuit so far. The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of competitive congressional races in California that will help determine which party controls the U.S. House during the final two years of President Trump's term.
