President Donald Trump’s Justice Department escalated its election showdown with California on Friday, giving local officials just 48 hours to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizen voters — or face legal action.
Federal prosecutors sent demand letters to county election officials across the state, according to a new report from the San Francisco Chronicle, which obtained one of the letters.
“BREAKING: In an escalation from the DOJ, prosecutors sent demand letters to individual registrars across California, giving them 48 hours to sequester the ballots of suspected noncitizen voters,” Chronicle politics editor Sara Libby wrote on X.
The letter, sent by U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian to Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder Kristin B. Connelly, demanded that officials review the citizenship status of more than 400 voters.
Connelly pushed back against the federal pressure.
“We aren’t doing anything wrong and are conducting this election in accordance with state and federal election law, as well as the Constitution of the U.S. and the Constitution of the State of California,” she told the Chronicle.
“Voters need to vote and not be intimidated,” she added Friday.
The latest demands come after the DOJ sued California in an effort to block the counting of roughly 20,000 ballots linked to voters whose citizenship the administration has questioned.
California officials have disputed the federal government’s allegations, while election law experts have questioned the lawsuit’s legal basis.
BREAKING: In an escalation from the DOJ, prosecutors sent demand letters to individual registrars across California, giving them 48 hours to sequester the ballots of suspected noncitizen voters. https://t.co/p2gbXZ4757 — Sara Libby (@SaraLibby) October 23, 2026
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