The Supreme Court turned down the Justice Department’s ballot request on Monday, and a federal appeals court reversed itself twice in 24 hours.
The Justice Department announced charges against 63 people in 15 states on Monday, one day before the midterms. The department says the cases involve illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and false claims of U.S. citizenship. Four of those charged are in the country illegally. The release describes nearly all of the others as lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, and one, a Maryland man, is charged with filing a registration in New Mexico while falsely claiming to live there.
Most of the allegations are about past elections. The release cites votes in 2024 and 2022, and in some cases registrations going back to 2000. North Carolina has the most defendants with 18, followed by California with 12 and Tennessee with seven. Texas and Pennsylvania have five each. In California, six people are charged with false statements on naturalization applications and six with illegal voting.
The department says it has charged 195 noncitizens in 25 states over the past nine weeks, and 239 people on voter-fraud offenses since President Trump returned to office. “Today’s announcement marks the largest surge of voter-fraud arrests since President Trump returned to office,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said. The release says the charges are accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent.
The announcement came as the department’s fight with California over ballots moved through three levels of the federal courts in a week.
California’s ballots
The dispute centers on a federal list of about 20,000 California voters the government calls “likely” noncitizens. The Justice Department asked a court to make the state set aside mail ballots from people on that list. On Oct. 28, U.S. District Judge David Carter denied the request. “Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred,” he wrote, and he said the government’s process for building the list raised significant concerns. He added that the government can pursue its concerns by prosecuting individuals for illegal voting.
A divided Ninth Circuit panel also refused to order the step. On Monday the Supreme Court denied the Justice Department’s emergency request in a one-line unsigned order with no noted dissents. The ballots are not being set aside under the department’s demand.
A second case, and a reversal
A separate lawsuit, brought by SEIU, AFSCME, LULAC and the NAACP, challenges how the government has pressed election officials. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson issued a temporary restraining order that barred the Justice Department and Homeland Security from demanding that officials halt or segregate ballots and from threatening prosecution when officials refuse.
On Monday a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel voted 2 to 1 to pause that order. Hours later the full court vacated the panel’s ruling and restored Thompson’s order. On Tuesday the full court reversed course again. Its filed order says a majority of the full court voted to reinstate the panel’s order, and that the order is in place “pending further order of the court.”
The reporting reviewed does not give the vote count on the full court’s orders. The orders are interim, and the court has not ruled on the merits.
The warning
Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted on X on Election Day: “If you vote illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you, and prosecute you. There will be no escape.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom answered with the same words, adding capital letters: “If YOU show up to the polls illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you, and prosecute you. There will be no escape.” Coverage describes it as a warning to federal agents who appear at polling places. The post cites no law, and DHS has said ICE is not planning operations at polling locations.
Earlier this month the Justice Department announced 28 charged in California under what it called Operation Protect the Vote, all of them green card holders. Charges are allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Sources
• Justice Department announces charges involving 63 individuals in election-related crimes, U.S. Department of Justice, Nov. 2, 2026
• Judge denies the Justice Department’s bid to stop processing California ballots, NPR via WUNC
• Supreme Court rejects Trump’s effort to force California to separate mail ballots, CBS News
• 9th Circuit reinstates restrictions on DOJ’s California noncitizen voting probe, The Maine Wire
• 9th Circuit hits Trump with late-night ruling, Raw Story
• Appeals court restores DOJ’s win in California election lawsuit, Washington Examiner
• Newsom’s post on X, Gov. Gavin Newsom
• Newsom threatens to arrest federal agents at polling stations, Yahoo News
• 28 charged in California sweep targeting alleged noncitizen voters, ABC7
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