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Earlier on this story2 Nov: Trump Urges Supreme Court To Halt California Vote-By-Mail Counting Over DOJ Noncitizen Claims2 more

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5 outlets compared

Justice Department Drops Lawsuit Seeking To Block California From Counting 20,000 Ballots

NBC News
“The case was at the forefront of President Donald Trump's administration's effort to assert control over state-run elections”
The New York Times
“putting a formal end to a bid that was soundly rejected by the Supreme Court”
5 Western Mainstream

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This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.

DOJ moved to dismiss its lawsuit to block California from counting about 20,000 noncitizen ballots. Filing followed Supreme Court denial of appeal challenging the case.

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Shared framing

All six headlines report the Justice Department withdrawing or dismissing its lawsuit over California ballots. They describe the legal action, without attributing a motive for the withdrawal.

6 of 6 outlets · 6 of 6 headlines analysed

  • Los Angeles Timesmove to dismiss case
  • CBS Newsmoves to drop its lawsuit
  • The New York TimesDismisses Suit Against California
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Justice Department withdraws ballot lawsuit

All six headlines report that the Justice Department moved to dismiss, dropped or withdrew its lawsuit. The shared frame is the reported procedural action, not a claim about why the department took it.

All 6 analysed headlines

Counts describe this collection. One headline may support more than one angle.

Analysed 7 Nov 2026.

Reviewed by Codex validator (AI) · 7 Nov 2026

DOJ drops ballot bid

The U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss its own lawsuit seeking to stop California from counting roughly 20,000 ballots it alleged went to noncitizens until their immigration status could be verified.

The motion to dismiss said the state would have already irreparably "commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones" by the time of the upcoming hearing.

The motion also argued that "The relief the United States sought and needed is no longer available—rendering voluntary dismissal necessary," as the case moved toward a scheduled hearing where a special master was slated to evaluate the accuracy of the list.

California officials said the list was out of date and included legitimate voters, and U.S. District Judge David O. Carter echoed that view in a blistering order denying the federal government’s request.

The dispute sat at the center of President Donald Trump’s administration effort to assert control over state-run elections, which Trump said are rife with illegal voting without providing evidence.

Reporting for this sectionNBC News

Court denials and officials

The Supreme Court rejected the Justice Department’s appeal in a one-line, unsigned order on Monday, on the eve of Election Day, after the federal government sought to require California to separate mail ballots received from the approximately 20,000 people it alleged were noncitizens.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter had ruled the government’s request was likely unconstitutional, and Carter argued that separating ballots at such a late stage would risk disenfranchising citizens and warned it would "wreak havoc" on the midterm elections.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Julie Hamill wrote in a filing before Carter on Friday that the court process was no longer necessary because "by the time of this Court’s hearing on Nov. 13" California would have already commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones.

Dean Logan said he was "pleased that the administration has accepted the clarity of the court findings" and ended its lawsuit, while California Atty. Gen Rob Bonta said the Trump Administration had given up its latest unlawful effort to interfere with California’s elections.

Kiersten Pels, president of the California Assn. of Clerks and Election Officials, said state election officials were "very pleased" with the voluntary dismissal and that it "affirms that our elections are administered with the utmost integrity and care."

Historic office interior with desks, rugs, chandeliers and a mantel clock, California
Historic office interior with desks, rugs, chandeliers and a mantel clockCalifornia · 27 January 2025 · Archive photoPhoto: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0
Reporting for this sectionCBS NewsLos Angeles Times

What happens next

The dismissal came as California had processed roughly 9 million ballots as of early Friday, with nearly 5 million still left to be counted, according to state election officials.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Justice Department’s voluntary dismissal followed the Supreme Court’s denial of the Trump administration appeal to lower court rulings, with no noted dissents.

The New York Times said the notice of voluntary dismissal, filed late in the day in Los Angeles to Judge David O. Carter, put a formal end to a bid that had been rejected by the Supreme Court on election eve.

The motion to dismiss said the United States sought the relief to protect American voters in the state because each legal vote offset by an illegally cast vote constitutes irreparable harm, and it added that the United States needed the relief around November 3.

The Los Angeles Times quoted Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels? No, it quoted Kiersten Pels separately, while it also quoted a Justice Department spokesperson saying the litigation was "moot" but that the Trump administration "is not backing down" in targeting alleged noncitizen voters, including in a separate case demanding California "conduct proper list maintenance".

Reporting for this sectionNBC NewsLos Angeles Times