'High percentage' of DOJ's noncitizen voters list was born in US: LA County analysis

Read the original at ABC News (US) ↗
Cite

Mallin, A., & Bruggeman, L. (2026, October 21). 'High percentage' of DOJ's noncitizen voters list was born in US: LA County analysis. ABC News (US). https://abcnews.com/US/high-percentage-dojs-california-noncitizen-voters-list-born/story?id=137429359

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

ABC News (US) · collected 2026-10-21 · by Alexander Mallin, Lucien Bruggeman

Quick Summary

Los Angeles County officials analyzed a sample of 200 individuals from the Justice Department's list of alleged noncitizen voters in California and found that nearly 40% reported being born in the U.S., suggesting citizenship, while 71.2% had no voting history. The analysis raises questions about the accuracy of the DOJ's list and the potential for disenfranchising eligible voters if the proposed process is implemented.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

As of October 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued California over allegations that more than 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in federal elections. The DOJ provided Los Angeles County with a list of suspected noncitizen voters and demanded they segregate ballots from these individuals until their citizenship status is verified. However, Los Angeles officials have found that a "high percentage" of the 20,000 names on the list were born in the U.S., suggesting many may be citizens. In court filings, California argues that the DOJ's demands are unfeasible and could disenfranchise eligible voters close to the November 3 midterm elections. The state contends that the list is unreliable and that investigating each name would violate federal and state election laws. Los Angeles officials analyzed a sample of 200 individuals from the list, finding that nearly 40% indicated they were born in the U.S., which strongly suggests citizenship. This analysis raises significant doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the DOJ's list. The case highlights tensions between federal oversight and state election administration ahead of critical midterm elections.

Written for “Justice Department Sues California Over Voting Rights” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 18 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 2 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 95199: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-21

Story

📰 Justice Department Sues California Over Voting Rights
Politics · 19 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
DoJ’s suspected non-citizens list includes ‘high percentage’ of those born in US, LA officials say same event · 95%
The Guardian · 0.90 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 20% hedged 5 of 25 📰 publisher trust 69
“Both articles report on the same DOJ list provided to LA election officials and discuss the high percentage of people on the list who were born in the US, referring to the same court papers filed by Los Angeles officials.”
Some on DOJ's 20,000 "likely" noncitizen list in Calif. appear to be U.S.-born same event · 95%
NPR · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 19% hedged 7 of 36 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles discuss the Justice Department's list of alleged noncitizen voters in California and cite preliminary analyses indicating many on the list may be U.S.-born citizens, referencing court filings from the same date.”
Trump vows jail time for California election officials counting ballots from noncitizens different event · 95%
Washington Examiner
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles describe different aspects of a broader issue around alleged noncitizen voting; Article A reports Trump's threat of jail time for election officials, while Article B discusses an LA County analysis of the Justice Department's list.”
Trump threatens California officials with imprisonment over stance on mail ballots different event · 95%
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 12% hedged 2 of 17 📰 publisher trust 60
“While related, Article A describes Trump and DOJ threatening California officials over mail ballots, while Article B discusses a later analysis by LA County on the DOJ's list of alleged noncitizen voters.”
California officials who process ballots from suspected noncitizens risk prosecution, US warns different event · 95%
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 63
“The articles discuss related issues around noncitizen voting but describe different specific events and outcomes.”
Justice Department arrests more than 2 dozen in California sweep targeting alleged noncitizen voters different event · 95%
The Independent
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 10% hedged 3 of 31 📰 publisher trust 59
“Article A reports on the arrests made by federal authorities as part of a statewide sweep targeting noncitizen voters, while Article B discusses an analysis conducted by LA County officials regarding the Justice Department's list of alleged noncitizens registered to vote.”
Trump administration threatens California officials if noncitizens vote in midterms different event · 90%
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 18% hedged 2 of 11 📰 publisher trust 69
“Article A describes a threat and warning from the Trump administration to California officials regarding noncitizen voting, while Article B reports on an analysis conducted by LA County showing that many individuals on the DOJ's list of alleged noncitizens were actually born in the U.S.”
Two Indian nationals among 28 charged with election fraud in California different event · 90%
The Hindu
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 1 of 11 📰 publisher trust 95
“The articles discuss different aspects of election fraud investigations; one reports on charges against 28 individuals including two Indian nationals, while the other analyzes a DOJ list and finds many on it were born in the US.”
Noncitizen snared in California’s biggest ever voter fraud bust reveals exactly how he did it different event · 90%
New York Post
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 21% hedged 5 of 24 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles describe different aspects and analyses related to a broader voter fraud investigation; Article A focuses on an individual case, while Article B discusses a preliminary analysis of a sample from the larger list.”
Rob Bonta’s astonishing response when grilled on biggest voter fraud bust in California history different event · 85%
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 13% hedged 3 of 23 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles describe different aspects of a broader issue related to voter fraud but do not appear to report on the exact same incident. Article A covers Rob Bonta's response and arrests made, while Article B discusses an analysis conducted by LA County officials.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
2 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
ABC News (US)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
19
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (US) · 1016 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-10-04
Tennessee Corrections commissioner resigns days after failed Christa Pike execution
2026-09-25
'Like a horror movie': Ukraine's Oleshky faces 'catastrophe' under Russian occupation

Who wrote this

Alexander Mallin
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 During a press conference on Monday, Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter attracted some scrutiny when he acknowledged that the administration's list likely included errors, and that "there may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · 'High percentage' of DOJ's noncitizen voters list was born in US: LA County analysis
🔮 In a follow-up post resharing the letter, Trump wrote "They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!"
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Trump administration threatens to prosecute local California election workers
🔮 Former special counsel Jack Smith is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to defend his two criminal investigations of President Donald Trump amid growing calls from Republicans that Smith himself face prosecution by Trump's Justice Department.
2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Former special counsel Jack Smith to testify before Senate on Trump investigations
🔮 The 2 1/2-hour hearing was heart wrenching as family members of the 13 service members killed in the 2021 attack took to the podium to tearfully plead for Judge Trenga to sentence Sharifullah to the maximum prison time of 20 years behind bars. "No justice will be enough to mend my broken heart," said Paula Knauss, the mother of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss.
2026-09-16 · assertive framing · Afghan man tied to Abbey Gate bombing sentenced to 20 years for supporting ISIS
🔮 Judge indicates Trump's pressure campaign could permanently sink Reflecting Pool vandalism case Asked whether prosecutors were investigating Hearn, they said they weren't.
2026-09-05 · assertive framing · Judge indicates Trump pressure campaign could permanently sink Reflecting Pool case
Also by Alexander Mallin
Trump administration threatens to prosecute local California election workers
2026-10-17 · ABC News (US)
9 former FBI agents who worked on Trump classified docs case sue over their firings
2026-10-15 · ABC News (US)
Judge reinstates Washington state US attorney fired by Trump
2026-10-01 · ABC News (US)
Former special counsel Jack Smith to testify before Senate on Trump investigations
2026-09-29 · ABC News (US)
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Alexander Mallin →
Lucien Bruggeman
3 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 During a press conference on Monday, Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter attracted some scrutiny when he acknowledged that the administration's list likely included errors, and that "there may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · 'High percentage' of DOJ's noncitizen voters list was born in US: LA County analysis
🔮 In a follow-up post resharing the letter, Trump wrote "They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!"
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Trump administration threatens to prosecute local California election workers
🔮 President Donald Trump will once again meet with the top investors in his namesake meme coin in November -- the third such gathering since his return to office -- in what critics call yet another example of the president attempting to profit from his position.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Trump to host another gala with investors in his meme coin
Also by Lucien Bruggeman
Trump administration threatens to prosecute local California election workers
2026-10-17 · ABC News (US)
Trump to host another gala with investors in his meme coin
2026-10-01 · ABC News (US)
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

California DOJ LA County The Justice Department's U.S.

Subjects

California GPE · 7× DOJ ORG · 4× The Justice Department's ORG · 2× U.S. GPE · 2× ABC News ORG · 1× LA County GPE · 1× Los Angeles GPE · 1× McCotter PERSON · 1× Trent McCotter PERSON · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

Federal law doesn't permit this willful blindness." Monica Flores, an assistant registrar in the Los Angeles County Clerk's Office, wrote in her declaration on Tuesday that the Justice Department's proposed process for segregating ballots for these individuals "would risk disenfranchising voters who are validly registered."
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 During a press conference on Monday, Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter attracted some scrutiny when he acknowledged that the administration's list likely included errors, and that "there may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens.
2026-10-21 · ABC News (US)
'High percentage' of DOJ's noncitizen voters list was born in US: LA County analysis · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 2 hedged)

'High percentage' of DOJ's California noncitizen voters list born in US, preliminary LA County analysis shows Of the 200 individuals in the sample, 40% say they were born in the U.S. The Justice Department's list of alleged noncitizens registered to vote in California includes a "high percentage" of individuals who say they were born in the U.S. and many more who have no voting history at all, according to an analysis of a relatively small sample conducted by officials in Los Angeles. uncertain
who → bear → Angeles
In court papers filed Tuesday, two officials in the county registrar's office delivered the results of their "preliminary analysis" of 200 individuals from the DOJ's list of some 20,000 accused of being ineligible to vote. asserted
officials → file → 20,000
Of those 200 individuals, officials said, nearly 40% "indicate that they were born in the United States, which is strong evidence of citizenship; and 71.2% of the records have no voting history. asserted
% → say → history
More than 16 million votes were cast in California in 2024 and officials there say more than 23 million individuals are currently registered to vote in the state. asserted
individuals → cast → state
During a press conference on Monday, Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter attracted some scrutiny when he acknowledged that the administration's list likely included errors, and that "there may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens. uncertain
it → attract → errors
"We're not perfect and that's why we've asked California to cooperate with us," McCotter said. asserted
McCotter → ask → us
In a statement to ABC News, DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels accused California of "willful blindness." asserted
Pels → accuse → blindness
"California cannot facilitate the violation of federal law," Pels said. asserted
Pels → facilitate → law
"We notified California that noncitizens are likely registered to vote, and we asked the state to independently verify the citizenship of any ballots cast by people on a list that we provided. asserted
we → notify → that
It refused to do so. asserted
It → refuse → ?
Federal law doesn't permit this willful blindness." Monica Flores, an assistant registrar in the Los Angeles County Clerk's Office, wrote in her declaration on Tuesday that the Justice Department's proposed process for segregating ballots for these individuals "would risk disenfranchising voters who are validly registered." asserted
who → permit → voters
"The process the DOJ seeks to have the registrar undertake jeopardizes that core right for potentially thousands of voters, not to mention the finalization of election results, confidence in election results, and the ability to allow new elected officials to be instated in their positions," she continued. asserted
she → seek → positions
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 21 Oct 2026