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Trump's DOJ called thousands of voters "likely noncitizens." In court, it can't back that up.

Its lawyer conceded mistakes to Judge Chutkan. A California judge found the process not credible, and Nevada's 185 flagged voters were all citizens.

Trump's DOJ called thousands of voters "likely noncitizens." In court, it can't back that up.
Stock photo. Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

The Trump administration has told states that thousands of registered voters are "likely noncitizens." When judges ask it to prove that, the evidence keeps coming up short.

On Saturday, a Justice Department lawyer conceded to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that the government has made mistakes with these lists. Voting-rights and privacy groups are asking Chutkan to stop the lists from going to more states before Tuesday's election. She heard arguments Oct. 31 in League of Women Voters v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:26-cv-03602, D.D.C.) and said she would rule as soon as possible, Democracy Docket reported.

"You'll agree with me that the government has made mistakes?"

That was Chutkan's question to Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Shapiro, according to Democracy Docket. Shapiro answered that she "cannot disagree," adding that the government "is not trying to make mistakes," the outlet reported. NBC News also reported her "not trying to make mistakes" line.

Chutkan said past efforts like this one had swept U.S. citizens into what she called a "law enforcement dragnet." "Since when does the federal government get involved in voter integrity when there have been no convictions?" she asked, Democracy Docket reported. She said the effort could have a "chilling effect" on voters, NBC reported.

Shapiro's main defense wasn't that the lists are accurate. She argued the groups lack standing, meaning they haven't shown the kind of concrete harm that lets them sue, because no eligible voter has yet been shown to be blocked from voting. She told the court she had no information about plans to send more lists.

What the record shows about the lists

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) asked Chutkan on Oct. 29 for a temporary restraining order, a short-term emergency order that freezes the policy in place. They argue the policy goes beyond what Congress allowed and violates the Privacy Act of 1974, which limits how federal agencies share personal records. Their motion also gathers what courts and election officials have already found:

  • California. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter refused on Oct. 28 to order 20,000 ballots set aside. Given "the vagueness" of the government's descriptions of its procedures, he wrote, he "cannot conclude that [the government's] process is credible," as quoted in the motion. The motion says the government gave Carter no error rates and never explained how LexisNexis did its matching.
  • Los Angeles County. In a sample of 200 names, county officials found 38.9% of those with a reported birthplace said they were born in the United States, and 112 had canceled or inactive registrations, according to a county declaration quoted in the motion. Only 7,035 of the 20,000-plus records sent to the county had addresses there. UCLA researchers separately found 8,880 names statewide don't match anyone on California's rolls.
  • Nevada. DHS told Nevada in July that as many as 15,903 noncitizens might be registered there, then cut that to 185 after a manual review. Nevada checked those 185 and found every one was a citizen, Democracy Docket reported. "You have provided nothing of substance to suggest otherwise," Greg Ott, Nevada's chief deputy secretary of state, wrote to DHS.
  • The data underneath. Another federal judge found DHS's modified SAVE citizenship system "plagued with inaccuracies," and a court in San Francisco found a separate USCIS process relying on commercial databases carried a "high likelihood of error," the motion says, citing both rulings.

Federal officials still claim the lists are reliable. In California, a federal prosecutor said a re-review of the county's 200-name sample found only four citizens, CalMatters reported. Carter had that claim before him and still found the process not credible.

In Washington state, the Justice Department demanded 405 ballots be held back, and the United Food and Commercial Workers sued to stop it. On Oct. 30, Judge Trina Thompson barred DOJ and DHS from threatening election workers with prosecution over these ballots. WorkersRights.News covered the Chutkan case when it was filed Oct. 15.

What it means for you

Chutkan's ruling will decide whether more lists can go out to states while ballots are counted. No list changes your right to vote Tuesday. If you're registered and a poll worker can't find you or questions your eligibility, ask for a provisional ballot and call the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE.

Sources

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