Trump’s Fraud Claims Falter as California Bust Exposes Tactics

WHO:

Alternet - President Donald Trump’s administration faced questions about its claims of voter fraud in California.

Alternet - Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the prosecutions fulfilled the administration’s demands and stated: “California refused to look at that list.”

Alternet - Rick Hasen of UCLA’s election law program called the cases a “drop in the bucket” compared with California’s 23 million registered voters.

Alternet - California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the administration’s pursuit of access to voter-registration records.

NY Post - Twenty-eight alleged noncitizens were arrested in what the article described as California’s biggest-ever voter-fraud bust.

WHAT:

Alternet - Federal prosecutors announced charges against 28 lawful permanent residents in a statewide investigation into noncitizen voting.

Alternet - Prosecutors alleged that 23 of the defendants cast 34 ballots in California elections; some defendants allegedly registered illegally but did not cast ballots.

Alternet - The article said California had held eight statewide contests since 2020, with nearly 94 million ballots cast across them. The 34 alleged illegal ballots represented 0.00004 percent of that total.

Alternet - The defendants face charges involving false statements on naturalization papers and fraudulent voter registration; the article says noncitizens are barred from federal elections.

Alternet - The NY Post reported that the 28 alleged noncitizens face a variety of criminal and misdemeanor charges.

Alternet - Federal judges rejected the administration’s request for California’s full voter rolls, citing privacy and legal grounds.

WHERE:

Alternet - The investigation and alleged ballots concerned California; the defendants were described as U.S. residents.

Alternet - California officials said the state’s voter-registration records were properly maintained.

WHEN:

Alternet - The alleged ballots were cast in elections beginning in 2020.

Alternet - The article said the Department of Homeland Security issued a preliminary review in July identifying more than 190,000 possible noncitizens registered to vote, and the estimate had fallen to about 20,000 by October.

WHY:

Alternet - The Justice Department sued after California officials declined federal requests to identify suspected noncitizens and prevent their votes from being counted.

Alternet - McCotter said California had refused to examine the administration’s suspect list.

HOW:

Alternet - Federal prosecutors pursued criminal cases against alleged noncitizen voters following a statewide probe.

Alternet - The Homeland Security review produced preliminary estimates of possible noncitizen registrations; the Justice Department sought state records to investigate those names.

(UPDATED October 21, 2026 01:31 UTC)

Federal prosecutors charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with offenses tied to alleged noncitizen voting, alleging that 23 cast a total of 34 ballots and that others registered but did not vote. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said California refused to examine the administration’s list of suspected noncitizens, while Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the push for voter-registration records; federal judges rejected the request for the state’s full voter rolls on privacy and legal grounds. Election law scholar Rick Hasen called the cases a “drop in the bucket” compared with California’s 23 million registered voters, and state officials said the voter rolls were properly maintained.