Justice Department charges more than 2 dozen in California sweep targeting alleged noncitizen voters

Federal authorities have charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with alleged election-related offenses as part of the Trump administration’s nationwide effort to identify noncitizens who may have illegally registered or voted in U.S. elections.

The October 19 operation, called “Operation Protect the Vote,” comes just two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.

The Justice Department says it has charged 113 people across 20 states with illegal voting or registration offenses over the past seven weeks. Officials accuse California of failing to maintain accurate voter rolls and are seeking to prevent ballots from suspected noncitizens from being counted until their eligibility is verified.

The federal government has also identified approximately 20,000 California voters it believes may be noncitizens, although state officials dispute the allegations and say the administration has not provided sufficient supporting evidence.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta maintains that widespread voter fraud does not exist in the state, which has approximately 23 million registered voters. He argues that isolated violations should not be confused with evidence of systemic fraud.

The broader national picture provides important context. Research consistently indicates that noncitizen voting is extremely rare, and there is no established evidence that it has changed the outcome of a major election. The 28 people charged in California have not been convicted, and the charges do not establish that every defendant actually cast a ballot.

The dispute has also raised concerns about election administration. The Justice Department has warned California election workers that knowingly processing ballots cast by noncitizens could expose them to federal prosecution. State election officials argue that eligibility disputes should be resolved through the courts rather than last-minute federal directives.

With Election Day approaching, the legal battle highlights two fundamental responsibilities of election administration: ensuring that only eligible citizens vote while protecting the voting rights of those legally entitled to participate.

Both objectives are essential to public confidence in American elections.

Source: The Associated Press, October 19, 2026.

Reporting by Safiyah Riddle, with contributions from Associated Press journalists Eric Tucker in Washington, Ali Swenson in New York, and Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California.