CALIFORNIA, United States, October 19, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Justice announced federal charges against 28 foreign nationals residing in California for irregularities related to voter registration and participation in U.S. elections.
The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney
General Trent McCotter, who stated that the cases support the lawsuit filed by
the federal government against California for its refusal to review a list of
more than 20,000 people whom federal authorities consider potential non-citizen
voters.
According to the Department of Justice, the 28 defendants
are legal permanent residents, known as green card holders, who are not
entitled to vote in federal elections. Eleven of them were arrested on Monday,
while the rest face charges as part of the investigation called Operation
Protect the Vote.
The charges include registering to vote using false
statements of citizenship, illegally participating in elections, and providing
false information on naturalization applications, according to the individual
cases described by the prosecution and which are very common in California.
McCotter stated that the charges demonstrate the importance
of the federal lawsuit and reiterated that enforcing election law seeks to
protect the value of the vote of U.S. citizens and strengthen public confidence
in the elections, given the well-founded history of non-citizens, including
undocumented residents, casting votes in the past.
The federal government also seeks to have California
election officials verify the citizenship of individuals on the disputed list
before counting their mail-in ballots.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta indicated that
investigations must continue when there is evidence of wrongdoing.