Federal pressure on California’s election reaches Santa Clara County

The federal government's fight with California over the Nov. 3 election has reached Santa Clara County, where the U.S. Attorney asked the Registrar of Voters to set aside 902 mail ballots.  The county said no.

Here is what the federal government has done, what courts have said and how state and county officials responded.  Voting is already underway, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

The list of “likely” noncitizens

In July, the Department of Homeland Security told Secretary of State Shirley Weber that as many as 190,832 noncitizens may be registered in California, according to a federal court order.  Weber asked how the agency built its list.  The court found the agency did not answer.

On Oct. 13, the Justice Department gave Los Angeles County a thumb drive with more than 20,000 names it called “likely noncitizens” who had been mailed ballots.  It asked state and county officials to review the list in 48 hours and set aside ballots they could not confirm.  The Secretary of State said the department sent her the demand but not the list.

When the state and county refused, the department sued on Oct. 15.  “They refused,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.  The suit claims that counting ballots from people on the list would break the federal law that bars noncitizens from voting.

On Oct. 19, the department announced charges against 28 green-card holders it said registered to vote by falsely claiming citizenship.  It said all 28 were on the list.  One was listed as a San Jose resident.  Charges are accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

“California must verify the citizenship of those more than 20,000 registrants before mail-in ballots are counted,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter.

Santa Clara County's 902 names

On Oct. 23, U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian of the Northern District of California sent Registrar of Voters Matt Moreles a part of that list:  902 names in Santa Clara County.  The letter asked the registrar, within 48 hours, to share Social Security numbers, ID information and registration forms for each person.  It asked the county to set aside their ballots until citizenship was confirmed.

The letter warned that election workers who count ballots from people flagged by federal agencies “risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”

County Counsel Tony LoPresti answered on Oct. 25 that the registrar is “legally prohibited” from doing what the letter asked.  He wrote that state law bars sharing confidential voter data without a court order, and that the letter offered no warrant and no evidence about each person.

The county said a spot check of the list found that about a third of the sampled names were canceled registrations, some from as far back as 2019.  It said one name appeared three times on the first page.  Los Angeles County reported similar problems in its sample, the letter said.

What the courts have said

On Oct. 26, a Ninth Circuit panel dismissed the department's emergency appeal, 2–1.  The judges said the trial court had not yet had a fair chance to rule.

On Oct. 28, U.S. District Judge David O.  Carter denied the department's request for a temporary restraining order.  He wrote that setting the ballots aside “would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway.” He said the government can still prosecute individual voters who break the law.

The Secretary of State's office said in an Oct. 20 filing that the suit “threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians.” News reports said the department planned to appeal Carter's ruling [TK:  confirm a notice of appeal on the docket].

The fight over the voter roll

This dispute follows an earlier one.  In 2025 the Justice Department demanded California's full, unredacted voter list and then sued Weber when she refused.  Carter dismissed that case in January 2026, according to the Secretary of State.  The department appealed [TK:  status of the Ninth Circuit appeal].

Executive orders and the mail

President Trump's March 2025 order on elections, Executive Order 14248, would have required proof of citizenship on the federal registration form.  It also pushed states to reject mail ballots that arrive after Election Day.  California and other states sued, and a federal judge in Massachusetts permanently blocked those parts on July 13, 2026.  California counts mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days.

A second order, signed March 31, 2026, led the U.S. Postal Service to adopt new rules for ballot mail.  On Sept. 14 the U.S. Supreme Court refused to let the Postal Service use the rule for this election.  Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that election officials did not have enough time to put it in place.  Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

In a separate case on Aug. 24, the Supreme Court paused a lower-court order against parts of the second executive order, saying the states had sued too early.  Weber said at the time that California's election rules “remain in effect.”

Federal monitors at the polls

The Justice Department plans to send about 1,000 monitors to polling places across the country on Nov. 3, the Associated Press reported.  The department says its monitors only watch and take notes.  It has not said publicly which California counties will get them [TK:  whether Santa Clara County is on the list].

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will send its own election-law observers to some counties, CBS Sacramento reported.

Where the parties stand

The federal actions come from a Republican administration.  California's Democratic statewide officials, including Weber, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Newsom, have fought them in court.

Voters can check their own ballot status through the state's Where's My Ballot service.  Election officials say ballots are being counted under current state law.

Source:  U.S. Department of Justice, Oct. 15, 2026 release:  lawsuit over California voter list; U.S. v. California complaint (C.D. Cal. 2:26-cv-12025); U.S. Department of Justice, Oct. 19, 2026 release:  28 charged; U.S. Attorney, N.D. Cal., Oct. 23, 2026 letter to Santa Clara County ROV (posted by San José Inside); Santa Clara County Counsel, Oct. 25, 2026 response (posted by San José Inside); County of Santa Clara news release; Los Angeles County, Oct. 15, 2026 statement from Dean Logan; Ninth Circuit order, No. 26-7070, Oct. 26, 2026; Order denying TRO, Judge David O. Carter, Oct. 28, 2026 (via California Attorney General); California Secretary of State, Oct. 14, 2026 release; California Secretary of State, Oct. 20, 2026 release; California Secretary of State, voter-list case release; California v. Trump (D. Mass. 25-cv-10810) judgment, July 13, 2026; California Attorney General release on Executive Order 14248 ruling; U.S. Supreme Court, Postal Service v. California, No. 26A305, Sept. 14, 2026; California Secretary of State, Sept. 14, 2026 release; Supreme Court No. 26A124, Aug. 24, 2026 (via Cornell LII); AP (tip):  Justice Department election monitors; CBS Sacramento (tip):  state election watchers