Monday, November 9, 2026 - A major legal setback for the Trump administration has emerged after the US Department of Justice voluntarily dropped its lawsuit seeking to prevent California from counting approximately 20,000 ballots flagged as potentially belonging to non-US citizens.
The decision, announced on Friday, November 6, 2026, followed several court defeats, including the US Supreme Court's rejection of the administration's emergency appeal. The lawsuit had targeted California election officials, demanding that they separate the disputed ballots while federal authorities investigated the voters' citizenship status. The sudden withdrawal has brought renewed attention to the growing legal battle over federal authority and state control of American elections.
The dispute intensified after California officials challenged the reliability of the federal government's list, arguing that it contained outdated information and included eligible American citizens. US District Judge David Carter rejected the administration's request to intervene in the election process, warning that the proposed action could disenfranchise legitimate voters and disrupt election administration.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also rejected the administration's attempt to secure emergency relief, before the Supreme Court declined to intervene on November 2. In its dismissal filing, the Justice Department argued that the requested action was no longer possible because the election had concluded and the ballots could no longer be separated from other processed votes. California Attorney General Rob Bonta welcomed the development, describing it as a victory for voting rights and state election authority.
The decision marks an important moment in the ongoing national debate over election integrity, voter eligibility and the limits of presidential power. While the Justice Department has abandoned this particular lawsuit, it has indicated that its broader efforts to investigate suspected noncitizen voting and challenge state voter registration procedures will continue. For California, the immediate threat of having thousands of ballots set aside has been removed, but the wider legal conflict remains unresolved.
With election administration becoming an increasingly contested issue in American politics, the outcome of future court battles could have significant implications for voting rights, federal-state relations and public confidence in the democratic process.
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