California election officials on Friday rejected Trump administration demands to verify citizenship of suspected noncitizens, citing sloppy data delivery. Officials reported receiving thousands of names without Social Security numbers, paired with addresses outside their jurisdiction. Mike Sanchez of Los Angeles County called the transmitted list "a data dump" delivered via thumb drive with a sticky-note password, which also raised security concerns. The Justice Department later provided a spreadsheet described as an "unsubstantiated jumble."
The Trump administration sued to block mail ballots from about 20,000 people identified by Homeland Security as potentially noncitizens. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, defended the demands, stating the names were "confirmed from a review of federal databases." However, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber called the 48-hour deadline "impossible" and based on "unverifiable information," noting the list was sent only to Los Angeles County, not her office.
Legal filings reveal the Justice Department argues for greater federal authority over voter rolls, alleging mass illegal voting despite evidence showing it is rare. The suit seeks to prevent counting votes until citizenship status is determined, involving a fraction of California's 23 million registered voters. Democrats argue the effort threatens voting rights, while Republicans maintain it ensures election integrity.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing