Summary
The DOJ dropped its lawsuit involving 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters after the election had taken place.
A separate DOJ lawsuit seeking access to California’s voter registration records remains ongoing.
The legal fight continues after California voters rejected Proposition 39’s voter ID requirements.
While Democrats celebrate the Department of Justice’s decision last Friday to drop its lawsuit involving suspected noncitizen voters in California, another lawsuit remains ongoing, keeping the legal battle over election security in the Golden State far from over.
One day before the election, the Supreme Court rejected the DOJ’s emergency appeal seeking to require California to separate ballots associated with approximately 20,000 suspected noncitizens identified on a DOJ-provided list from other ballots.
On Friday, the DOJ announced it was dropping its lawsuit seeking to segregate the disputed ballots because the election had already taken place and the ballots could no longer be separated.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli explained the decision on X, saying he would “pursue every civil and criminal remedy to ensure only eligible American citizens vote.”
We dismissed the case because the court rejected our demands to sequester the ballots, and the election is now over. Our efforts to restore confidence and integrity in elections continue. We will pursue every civil and criminal remedy to ensure only eligible American citizens… https://t.co/EltpiBjyPd— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) November 7, 2026
California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the lawsuit an “unlawful effort to interfere with California’s elections and disenfranchise eligible voters.”
NEWS: After four court losses in a row all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump Administration has given up its latest unlawful effort to interfere with California’s elections and disenfranchise eligible voters. Rest assured: California has and always will defend…— Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) November 7, 2026
However, the DOJ’s legal fight with California isn’t over. The department is continuing a separate lawsuit seeking access to the state’s voter registration records.
United States v. Weber, filed in September 2025, seeks to require California to turn over its statewide voter registration database so the DOJ can determine whether the state is properly maintaining its voter rolls, including keeping noncitizens off them.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has refused to turn over the records, arguing that doing so would violate state laws protecting voters’ private information.
The case was dismissed in January 2026, but the DOJ appealed the ruling in February, and the case remains before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The ongoing legal battle comes as California voters rejected Proposition 39, a ballot measure that would have required identification to vote in person and additional identifying information when voting by mail.
As of Nov. 5, Decision Desk HQ projected the proposition would fail, with approximately 39% voting in favor of voter ID and 60% voting against.