Justice Department orders California ballots set aside

What the Justice Department ordered

The Justice Department on Friday ordered California election officials to identify people on voter rolls whom they suspect are not U.S. citizens and to set aside mail ballots connected to those voters. The department also warned election officials against knowingly including those ballots in the count.

The order makes two separate demands of officials: reviewing voter-registration records for suspected noncitizens and separating affected mail ballots from ballots proceeding through the regular counting process. The directive applies to people identified as suspected noncitizens, rather than only to people whose citizenship status has been conclusively determined.

That distinction matters for voters and administrators. A person being flagged as a suspected noncitizen is not, by itself, the same as a final finding about that person’s eligibility. How officials make those identifications will determine which voters and ballots are affected by the federal order.

What happens next

California election officials must determine how to carry out the directive at the voter-roll and ballot-processing stages. Key procedural questions include what records officials will use to identify suspected noncitizens, how affected ballots will be labeled and stored, and whether voters will have a way to address an incorrect identification.

The next steps will also show whether California officials challenge the order or issue instructions to county election offices. Any state or county guidance could clarify how election workers should handle flagged registrations and mail ballots while following the Justice Department’s demand.