Federal Voter Fraud Probe Leads to 11 Arrests in California

Federal authorities arrested 11 individuals in California on Monday as part of an investigation into alleged voter registration fraud, escalating a dispute between the Trump administration and state officials over election integrity.

The arrests are part of Operation Protect the Vote, a federal initiative involving all four U.S. attorneys’ offices in California.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), 28 people have been charged in separate criminal complaints with federal election-related offenses, including fraudulently registering to vote and casting ballots in U.S. elections.

All 28 individuals are lawful permanent residents of the United States, according to the DOJ. However, under state and federal law, noncitizens — including lawful permanent residents — generally are not eligible to vote in federal or state elections.

Those arrested appeared in court Monday afternoon, though no pleas were entered.

Some defendants also face charges of making false statements during naturalization proceedings. The alleged offenses carry maximum penalties of five years in federal prison.

The arrests come days after the Justice Department sued California over its voter registration records. In a complaint filed Oct. 15, federal officials alleged that more than 20,000 people they believe are likely noncitizens appeared on the state’s voter rolls.

The DOJ said the federal government identified individuals it believed had voted illegally by mail and sought to verify their citizenship status. The department alleged that California refused to assist in the investigation, prompting the lawsuit.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the arrests support allegations that mail-in ballots have enabled illegal voting in California elections.

“California is mailing ballots to noncitizens, and they are refusing to comply with federal law, which makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote,” Essayli said in a statement. “The voting rights of American citizens must be protected.”

Essayli had previously confirmed during the June primaries that numerous investigations into election fraud were underway amidst the rather slow counting of ballots.

“California’s election system has serious structural vulnerabilities,” Essayli wrote on X. “Universal vote-by-mail with no voter ID requirements creates conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished, eroding public confidence.”

The civil lawsuit and criminal proceedings remain separate matters. The criminal complaints contain allegations against individual defendants, while the civil case concerns the state’s handling of voter registration records and ballot eligibility.

Both the lawsuit and the arrests come weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, as Californians mail in their ballots.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised claims of election fraud at campaign events ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, including allegations about the 2020 election and mail-in voting.

At a rally Monday for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, Trump revisited his claim that his 2020 defeat was fraudulent and urged supporters to make the upcoming election “too big to rig.” He also alleged cheating in a local mayoral election without presenting evidence of fraud and said he was committed to eradicating alleged election fraud.

“Our fraud division is getting them all,” Trump said of alleged voting fraud. “A vote for any Dumb-ocrat this year is a vote to let that small and dangerous group of extremists hold all of us hostage in America. They’re not going to hold us hostage.”

UCLA election law expert Rick Hasen said he believes the timing of the investigations is likely no coincidence.

“When I first heard about the arrests, I feared that this was just a show and there was probably not a lot of strong evidence,” Hasen said. “There’s all kinds of reasons why someone might end up being registered to vote when they are noncitizens that doesn’t reach [the] level of criminality.”

Hasen said the 28 charges announced by the DOJ did not appear “strong.” He argued that if voter fraud were truly a major issue in California, the government would have presented stronger cases.

Although the allegations may sound pressing in headlines, Hasen said Californians should put the Justice Department’s figures into perspective.

California has more than 23 million registered voters, and more than 16 million Californians voted in the 2024 presidential election. If the DOJ’s estimate of 20,000 illegal voters is accurate, that figure would represent approximately 0.09% of registered voters, a relatively small proportion, Hasen said.

“This all seems like an orchestrated effort to try to make a major issue out of something that seems to be minor,” Hasen said.

Instead, Hasen believes the effort is intended to undermine confidence in elections and sow voter insecurity as Republicans and the Trump administration seek to maintain majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

How the federal government proceeds with the DOJ’s lawsuit could give Americans a clearer sense of the administration’s influence over election matters.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called the Trump administration’s actions a “desperate attempt” to suppress California voters ahead of the election. Newsom accused the administration of politicizing the Justice Department and making an unprecedented demand to set aside ballots it considers invalid. He said California remains committed to conducting fair and democratic elections.

“A totally unprecedented request that should scare the hell out of every American,” Newsom said. “We will continue to carry out free and fair elections in the Golden State — and call out this authoritarian as he tries every play in the dictator’s playbook.”

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