> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.workersrights.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Trump's DOJ gave 18 California counties 48 hours to pull ballots. It threatened their election workers. - URL: https://www.workersrights.news/doj-48-hour-letters-18-california-counties-ballots/ - Published: 2026-10-24T15:11:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T15:11:04.000Z - Description: Prosecutors want voters' Social Security numbers and ballots set aside. San Bernardino's list alone has 1,133 names. - Author: WorkersRights.News Team - Tags: Politics, Legal News Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles sent letters on Friday to county election offices across California, giving them 48 hours to find and set aside mail ballots cast by people the Justice Department suspects are not citizens. At least 18 counties got the letters, the Los Angeles County registrar's office told the [Associated Press](https://www.wral.com/news/ap/0a701-doj-orders-some-california-counties-to-verify-ballots-in-48-hours/?ref=workersrights.news). Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego counties are among them. The letters ask registrars to identify ballots tied to names on a federal list, sequester any ballot whose voter's citizenship can't be verified, and send the government voters' Social Security numbers, ID information and copies of their registrations, [AP reported](https://www.wral.com/news/ap/0a701-doj-orders-some-california-counties-to-verify-ballots-in-48-hours/?ref=workersrights.news). The San Bernardino letter says the list includes 1,133 people from that county. Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told [NBC4](https://nbclosangeles.com/news/local/doj-presses-california-counties-to-verify-voter-eligibility-ahead-of-midterms/3960151?ref=workersrights.news) the letters went to every county in the state. Essayli also put a threat in writing. "Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy," he said, per [AP](https://www.wral.com/news/ap/0a701-doj-orders-some-california-counties-to-verify-ballots-in-48-hours/?ref=workersrights.news). In the San Bernardino letter, he wrote that officials who knowingly count such ballots "risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime," [CNN reported](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/10/24/justice-department-orders-california-counties-to-set-aside-ballots-from-suspected-noncitizens/?ref=workersrights.news). ### A list California says it can't trust The letters widen a fight that started in Los Angeles. On Oct. 13, the Justice Department handed L.A. County a list of people it called "likely" noncitizens and gave the county and Secretary of State Shirley Weber 48 hours to respond, according to [CNN](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/10/24/justice-department-orders-california-counties-to-set-aside-ballots-from-suspected-noncitizens/?ref=workersrights.news). Two days later it [sued both](https://www.workersrights.news/doj-threatens-california-election-workers-ballot-count/) to stop roughly 20,000 ballots from being counted. California's answer has been that the list is wrong. Lawyers for the state and L.A. County argue the federal data is unreliable, that the demand risks disenfranchising citizens, and that it could delay certification of the Nov. 3 midterms, [AP reported](https://www.wral.com/news/ap/0a701-doj-orders-some-california-counties-to-verify-ballots-in-48-hours/?ref=workersrights.news). When L.A. County checked a sample of flagged names, about 1 in 4 had a U.S. birthplace on file, as we [reported Wednesday](https://www.workersrights.news/california-answers-doj-20000-ballots-us-born-voters/). The administration has a track record here. In Nevada, the Department of Homeland Security said it had confirmed 185 noncitizens on the rolls through manual review; Nevada officials later reported all 185 were U.S. citizens, a finding DHS disputes, [according to CNN](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/10/24/justice-department-orders-california-counties-to-set-aside-ballots-from-suspected-noncitizens/?ref=workersrights.news). AP notes that illegal voting by noncitizens is rare, hard to prove, and has not been shown to change election results. Earlier this week, federal agents [charged 28 people](https://www.workersrights.news/doj-charges-28-california-green-card-holders-voting-20000-ballots/) from the 20,000-name list with registration or voting crimes. Those are charges, not convictions. ### Who pushed back San Diego County's registrar said the county was evaluating its next steps, that the Secretary of State decides voter eligibility, and that "there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in San Diego County or in the State of California," [Democracy Docket reported](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/doj-demands-more-california-counties-segregate-ballots-threatening-to-prosecute-election-officials/?ref=workersrights.news). Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee, called the administration "afraid and desperate" and told election officials, "We have your back," per [Democracy Docket](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/doj-demands-more-california-counties-segregate-ballots-threatening-to-prosecute-election-officials/?ref=workersrights.news). ### What comes next The Los Angeles lawsuit is before U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who [took over the case](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/judge-who-rejected-dojs-voter-roll-demand-takes-over-california-ballot-case-from-trump-appointee/?ref=workersrights.news) on Oct. 21\. A hearing is set for Tuesday, Oct. 27\. The Justice Department didn't want to wait: on Friday it filed an [emergency motion](https://www.workersrights.news/doj-emergency-motion-freeze-20000-california-ballots/) asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to step in first, and the appeals court set a Saturday deadline for a response, [CBS News and AP reported](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-california-counties-set-aside-verify-certain-ballots-noncitizens/?ref=workersrights.news). No ruling had been reported as of Saturday morning. The stakes are large. California has more than 23 million registered voters, and more than 330,000 mail ballots had already been counted, according to state filings cited by [AP](https://www.wral.com/news/ap/0a701-doj-orders-some-california-counties-to-verify-ballots-in-48-hours/?ref=workersrights.news). Pulling ballots out of the count now, on a list the state says is riddled with citizens, would put lawful voters' ballots on hold in the final days before Election Day. We condemn the use of criminal threats against the county workers who run California's elections. If you vote by mail in California, sign up for the Secretary of State's free [Where's My Ballot?](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status/wheres-my-ballot?ref=workersrights.news) tracker at wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov. It sends a text, email or voice call when your ballot is mailed, received and counted, and alerts you to any problem with instructions to fix it. If your ballot status stalls, call your county registrar. ### Sources - [DOJ orders some California counties to verify ballots in 48 hours](https://www.wral.com/news/ap/0a701-doj-orders-some-california-counties-to-verify-ballots-in-48-hours/?ref=workersrights.news), Associated Press via WRAL - [DOJ gives California counties 48 hours to identify and set aside ballots of potential noncitizens](https://abc7.com/story/doj-gives-california-counties-48-hours-identify-set-aside-ballots-potential-noncitizens/19974884/?ref=workersrights.news), ABC7 Los Angeles - [DOJ presses California counties to verify voter eligibility ahead of midterms](https://nbclosangeles.com/news/local/doj-presses-california-counties-to-verify-voter-eligibility-ahead-of-midterms/3960151?ref=workersrights.news), NBC Los Angeles - [DOJ demands that some California counties set aside and verify alleged noncitizen ballots within 48 hours](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-california-counties-set-aside-verify-certain-ballots-noncitizens/?ref=workersrights.news), CBS News - [Justice Department orders California counties to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens](https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2026/10/24/justice-department-orders-california-counties-to-set-aside-ballots-from-suspected-noncitizens/?ref=workersrights.news), CNN via ABC17 - [DOJ demands more California counties segregate ballots, threatening to prosecute election officials](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/doj-demands-more-california-counties-segregate-ballots-threatening-to-prosecute-election-officials/?ref=workersrights.news), Democracy Docket - [Judge who rejected DOJ's voter roll demand takes over California ballot case from Trump appointee](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/judge-who-rejected-dojs-voter-roll-demand-takes-over-california-ballot-case-from-trump-appointee/?ref=workersrights.news), Democracy Docket - [Where's My Ballot?](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status/wheres-my-ballot?ref=workersrights.news), California Secretary of State