Justice Department Drops Lawsuit Over Disputed California Ballots
The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its lawsuit aimed at preventing California from counting around 20,000 disputed ballots that were alleged to have been cast by noncitizens.
Richmond Petersburg, VA, November 6, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Justice has withdrawn a lawsuit that sought to block California officials from counting approximately 20,000 ballots. These ballots were disputed and had been alleged to have been cast by individuals who are not U.S. citizens.
The federal lawsuit was initiated with the aim of preventing the state from including these specific ballots in its election tallies. Details regarding the specific court where the lawsuit was filed, the exact date of the filing, or the specific entities within California that were named as defendants were not provided in the available information. Similarly, the precise timeline of the legal proceedings leading to the withdrawal remains unspecified.
The withdrawal of the lawsuit signifies that the Department of Justice will no longer pursue its legal challenge against the counting of these disputed ballots. The reasons for the lawsuit’s dismissal and the specific terms of its withdrawal were not detailed in the summary. The alleged casting of ballots by noncitizens is a serious allegation that has been a subject of concern in election integrity discussions. The status of the investigation into these allegations, or any potential further actions by state or federal authorities regarding the individuals who may have cast invalid ballots, was not specified.
The outcome means that the approximately 20,000 disputed ballots will not be prevented from being counted by the legal action initiated by the Department of Justice. However, the trend summary did not provide information on whether these ballots have already been counted, are still pending, or if they will ultimately be included in final election results. The specific election or elections to which these ballots pertain were also not clarified. The number of ballots involved, around 20,000, represents a significant quantity in close electoral contests, though their final impact on any given election’s outcome would depend on the margin of victory.
Story summarized from the original created by SAFIYAH RIDDLE, Associated Press on www.wric.com, see more information here.
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