Obama-appointed U.S. District Chief Judge James E. Boasberg has ordered the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to identify every state that received federal demands involving alleged noncitizen voters. The requests reportedly involved removing people from voter rolls, withholding mail ballots, or segregating those ballots instead of counting them.
The order came after a Thursday hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. According to the report, the Trump administration must provide the complete list to the plaintiffs by noon on Friday, October 30, 2026. Roll Call reported that Boasberg specifically sought information about states beyond California and Washington that received demands involving suspected noncitizen voters.
Boasberg declined to immediately block additional letters from the federal government. However, he indicated that he would rule by Monday, November 2, one day before Election Day, on the Democrats’ request for a broader injunction. President Trump and his allies have sharply criticized Boasberg, calling him a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge.”
The lawsuit was filed October 20 by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Nevada Democratic Party, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Governors Association. The defendants include President Trump, Attorney General Todd Blanche, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and their respective departments.
The plaintiffs argue that the federal letters violate the Constitution’s Elections Clause and the anti-commandeering doctrine by coercing states into taking action. The administration disputes that argument, maintaining that the letters merely notify states about potential violations of federal law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections. Officials say the letters do not force states to act unless a court issues an order.
California and Washington are the known targets. In California, the DOJ demanded that mail ballots connected to more than 20,000 people be segregated after federal investigators flagged them as “likely noncitizens” through cross-checks involving immigration and other data. A separate Clinton-appointed judge, David O. Carter, denied an emergency request to sequester those ballots, and the DOJ appealed. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs rejected a similar demand, stating that the list provided by the federal government included U.S. citizens.
Democrat election attorney Marc Elias celebrated the ruling and described it as a victory for the Democratic groups involved. Elias wrote, “Federal Court ORDERS DOJ and DHS to identify, by noon tomorrow, every state they’ve sent demands to remove alleged non-citizens from the rolls, withhold mail ballots, or segregate ballots. A victory for DSCC, DCCC, DGA and the Nevada Democratic Party!”
🚨BREAKING: Federal Court ORDERS DOJ and DHS to identify, by noon tomorrow, every state they’ve sent demands to remove alleged non-citizens from the rolls, withhold mail ballots, or segregate ballots.
A victory for DSCC, DCCC, DGA and the Nevada Democratic Party! pic.twitter.com/S4WaGzVEDa
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) October 29, 2026
The report also places the dispute alongside other federal efforts involving voter-roll maintenance and suspected noncitizen voting. Earlier this month, Biden-appointed Judge Sparkle Sooknanan vacated the DOJ’s nationwide “list maintenance” policy, which sought unredacted voter rolls from nearly every state, shared data with DHS for SAVE database checks, and pressed for removals even in states that voluntarily complied.
The report further describes DHS field operations targeting suspected noncitizen voters in nine states, DOJ charges against dozens of noncitizens for alleged illegal registration or voting, and 28 California cases connected to Operation Protect the Vote. It also cites Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s disclosures involving tens of thousands of noncitizens and hundreds of thousands of dead registrants on voter rolls from states that cooperated with federal officials.
For now, the Trump administration faces the noon deadline while Boasberg considers whether to restrict additional federal letters before Election Day. The case puts federal election enforcement, state control over voter administration, and the handling of allegedly ineligible ballots at the center of a last-minute courtroom fight.
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