Elections
DOJ voluntarily dismisses California ballot-counting lawsuitClose the ballot lawsuit after the ballots are counted
Counsel has filed the exit document. The allegation field does not become a verified result when the case leaves the calendar.
- Executive owner
- Donald J. Trump / Justice Department
- Status
- DOJ voluntarily dismisses California ballot-counting lawsuit
- Due
- Dismissal filed November 6; retain the separate case records
- Paying for it
- California election offices and voters flagged for review
ACTIVITY
UpdatedCompliance delivered a thumb drive with an urgent cover letter.
FORTY-EIGHT HOURS, let's see some Checking!
The review team asked whether Likely meant Confirmed. Scheduling advised that the clock was already running.
California counts the people at my Rallies very quickly (always UNDERCOUNTS!), send a List and suddenly everybody needs a Committee..... I want the List looked at, enough Committee-ing!
Quality Assurance proposed holding the ballots while everyone worked out who belonged on the list.
LIKELY means look at it, that's why I sent it! If I did their whole Job too they'd complain about that.
The new letters distribute the request across 58 counties. The verification method has not become clearer through wider distribution.
I gave them forty-eight hours, very generous hours, now everybody has their OWN forty-eight. Nobody can say the other County was holding their Clock.
An unconfirmed citizenship field is not proof of noncitizenship. The requested ballot treatment is segregation pending checks.
I want the list checked. CHECKED.
California's objection concerns how the names were selected. Sending the spreadsheet again will not answer it.
They keep asking how the List was made, I ask why nobody is finishing the List, we are having two very different Meetings..... I've been in meetings like this, everybody gets a laptop and somehow the meeting becomes LONGER.
I would put the actual method on the screen. Big enough that nobody can hide behind the loading circle.
The panel asked how the list was produced. The urgency field does not answer that question.
I got a Sunday hearing. Even the calendar knows this is important.
Two judges questioned authority and reliability. One was more receptive; the hearing is not a decision.
I hear twenty thousand and then I hear they want to know where the twenty thousand came from. Well get the person who knows! I am not personally sitting there with twenty thousand little index cards, although I could sort them very goodly, people underestimate my sorting.
Staff will distinguish the government's count of flagged names from a count of proven unlawful votes.
I want the source of the number on one page.
And when the judge asks for authority, don't send my rally schedule. Apparently we need a different attachment.
The emergency route has returned the file to its originating queue.
I wanted the Express Lane. They sent us to Reception!
I have built buildings with very beautiful elevators, you press the higher number and UP you go. Our lawyers go upstairs and somebody says come back downstairs, tremendous amount of traveling inside one Case. Get the floor plan before the next filing.
The next submission needs evidence and authority. Facilities cannot supply either.
I want the Spreadsheet checked before the people get checked. Saves checking.
The status field remains separate from the President's assessment of the elevator.
And don't call this a return trip on my schedule, call it Local Court Engagement. I am doing enough returns already.
The hearing has concluded. The anticipated order has not been entered in this briefing as a result.
I see another Tomorrow. We have a very large collection of Tomorrows.
The citizenship methodology remains a substantive question. A larger countdown would not answer it.
I would like the actual method, on paper, somebody put the method on paper! Every time I ask about this list they show me how MANY, very big number, then the judge asks HOW and everybody discovers they brought the wrong slide. I can count. Apparently we also need explaining.
No victory graphic yet. I want to see what we're coloring.
The graphic request is on hold.
And don't replace it with a picture of a Clock. I know what waiting looks like.
The district court denied the emergency request. DOJ has appealed.
I waited for the ruling and it came back NO. Very quick service once they know the answer I don't want.
The flagged names remain allegations. An appeal does not convert the list into findings.
California gets all this time to count, I ask for a little time to CHECK and suddenly everybody has a stopwatch..... I've built things in California, tremendous things, you can spend years waiting for a permit. Now they're the Speed Department!
I want the appeal read before anybody celebrates my defeat at a temporary thing.
Temporary describes the relief requested.
Then put that word near the headline. I shouldn't have to go looking for my Adjective.
Another NO. I can read it.
The emergency request was rejected again.
The underlying allegations remain distinct from established citizenship findings.
I have appealed plenty of things, buildings, assessments, a sign somebody says is too large when it's a BEAUTIFUL sign. This one keeps coming back with the same little word. Our lawyers are getting very expensive practice reading it.
Bring me the reasoning this time.
It accompanies the order.
Then put it first. I don't need three pages explaining where the stapler lives.
I see Gavin has written ahead.
The letter concerns a possible future action.
He has the objection ready before the thing he objects to, very advanced objection technology. I used to get objections after I put up a building, now they arrive before the architect parks. California is finally early for something!
The record does not establish a ballot seizure.
I want that sentence kept.
It is in the Public record.
And don't put a photograph of boxes being carried out next to it. I know what a suggestion looks like when it has handles.
Each order has been assigned its own scope field.
I want one page. The courts have given me a filing cabinet.
I ask about a list and now there is a list of people reviewing the list, then another court reviewing what we can say about the reviewing. Very expensive alphabetizing! Put the actual instruction at the TOP so I don't have to tour the entire judicial system before breakfast.
The voters' eligibility cannot be inferred from their appearance on the federal list.
I can read a warning. I need to know which warning is still operating.
The separate rulings will not be merged into a claim of blanket permission.
Good, I don't want a giant green checkmark that turns into seventeen footnotes when somebody clicks it.
I want the final docket entry.
The voluntary dismissal has been added to this case's history.
The federal citizenship allegations remain allegations.
I ask where the case is and they say dismissed, then hand me all the other cases, different judges, different folders. I want tabs! Real tabs sticking out, I should not need an appellate education just to find the California one.
Keep my folders readable.
Separate orders and proceedings retain their own entries.
And don't call a withdrawn request a delivered result. I know when a delivery hasn't arrived, I spend a great deal of time asking where things are.
PUBLIC RECORD
An October 13 Justice Department letter gave California 48 hours to review people it believes are likely noncitizens. It demanded withholding or segregating their ballots pending citizenship checks and threatened emergency legal action. Reuters notes that studies find noncitizen voting is rare. October 24 update: Reuters, citing the New York Times, reported October 23 letters giving all 58 California counties 48 hours to help verify citizenship. They requested segregation, not cancellation, of ballots when citizenship could not be confirmed. The lists concern suspected noncitizens, not verified findings. California officials disputed the federal identification method. DOJ and California's attorney general did not immediately respond to Reuters. October 26 update: At an October 25 emergency hearing, two Ninth Circuit judges questioned DOJ's authority, its decision to appeal before a district-court ruling and the reliability of its list of approximately 20,000 suspected noncitizens. DOJ sought ballot segregation, not cancellation; California disputed the list. A third judge appeared more receptive. CNN reported the arguments, not an order granting or denying relief. October 27 update: On October 26, the Ninth Circuit voted 2-1 to deny DOJ's emergency request to block counting ballots from a list of over 20,000 alleged noncitizens. The majority found intervention premature before the district court's October 27 hearing. This was not a final merits ruling. DOJ said 28 listed people faced illegal-voting charges; California disputed the data. Charges and flagged names do not establish unlawful ballots. October 28 update: At the October 27 hearing, Judge David Carter questioned whether DOJ's ballot-segregation request would disenfranchise legitimate voters and said he would rule October 28. DOJ defended its request as narrow; California challenged its database methods. Carter urged that threats to state and county election employees cease. Reuters reported the hearing, not a ruling granting or denying the request. October 29 update: On October 28, Judge David Carter denied DOJ's request for a temporary restraining order blocking California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters it alleged were likely noncitizens. He cited state control of elections and risks to eligible voters. DOJ appealed to the Ninth Circuit, arguing unlawful votes would dilute citizens' votes. California disputed the data. The denial concerned emergency relief, not a final resolution of the lawsuit. October 31 update: On October 30, the appeals court again rejected DOJ's request to block California mail-ballot counting for over 20,000 alleged noncitizens. The lower court had warned of disenfranchising eligible voters. November 1 update: On October 31, Governor Gavin Newsom warned federal judges that agents might seek warrants to seize California ballots before certification. This was a warning, not confirmation of a seizure. DOJ alleges over 20,000 registered voters are noncitizens; California disputes the data. Reuters reported DOJ had not specified how many listed people submitted ballots. November 3 update: On November 2 the Supreme Court rejected the requested temporary block on counting over 20,000 California voters' mail ballots. Judge James Boasberg separately barred segregation demands, finding flaws in the federal lists. Judge Tanya Chutkan temporarily barred DOJ and DHS from distributing suspected-noncitizen lists and demanding segregation or noncounting. Plaintiffs invoked the Privacy Act; DOJ defended law enforcement. A separate Ninth Circuit ruling allowed prosecution threats. These are distinct orders, not findings that listed voters committed crimes. November 7 update: Reuters reported November 7 that DOJ voluntarily dismissed its California ballot lawsuit on November 6. DOJ said the requested relief was unavailable after votes had been tallied. The suit targeted mail ballots from over 20,000 voters federal officials alleged were likely noncitizens. The Supreme Court had rejected emergency relief November 2. Dismissal does not establish the citizenship allegations or resolve the separate election cases.
Reuters via GV Wire · County demands · 2026-10-24 ↗
CNN via ABC17 · Emergency ballot hearing · 2026-10-25 ↗
Reuters via MarketScreener · 2026-10-27 ↗
Reuters via MarketScreener · Ballot order and appeal · 2026-10-28 ↗