Federal prosecutors on Monday announced California illegal voting charges against 28 lawful permanent residents accused of casting ballots in California elections despite not being U.S. citizens. The U.S. Department of Justice said the 28 green card holders were charged in federal criminal complaints, and that 11 of them were arrested Monday morning in a coordinated operation involving all four U.S. Attorney’s Offices in California.
TL;DR: The Justice Department charged 28 noncitizens living legally in California — green card holders, not U.S. citizens — with federal election crimes, alleging they cast roughly 25 to 27 illegal ballots in the 2020, 2022, and 2024 elections. Eleven defendants were arrested Monday. The move comes days after the DOJ sued California over its vote-by-mail ballots, and drew a sharp rebuttal from the state’s attorney general.
A Coordinated Sweep Across California
The announcement from the Justice Department described the action as a coordinated effort across all four federal prosecutorial districts in the state — a rare show of unified action by California’s four U.S. Attorneys. The complaints were unsealed on Monday, October 19, 2026, with arrests carried out that morning.
The defendants are foreign nationals who hold lawful permanent resident status, sometimes called green cards. While lawful permanent residents may live and work in the United States indefinitely, they are not U.S. citizens and are not permitted to vote in federal elections. Most of the 28 allegedly cast illegal ballots across the last three election cycles — 2020, 2022, and 2024.
Cities tied to the cases include Long Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Sacramento, and San Jose, according to USA Today’s reporting on the announcement. The Justice Department cited roughly 25 to 27 allegedly illegal ballots across the cases.
What the Charges Allege
The complaints allege three main categories of federal offenses: unlawful voting by an alien, making false claims of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote or to vote, and making false statements on a naturalization application. Each is a felony under federal law, punishable by up to five years in prison.
The defendants are accused, not convicted — every one of the 28 is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Federal prosecutors will need to show not only that the defendants voted, but that they were not citizens at the time and knowingly misrepresented their status where false-claims charges apply.
A Second Front: The Vote-by-Mail Lawsuit
The charges landed just days after a separate legal battle began. On October 15, the Justice Department sued the state of California, asking a court to set aside more than 20,000 vote-by-mail ballots so their citizenship status could be verified. The lawsuit and Monday’s criminal charges are legally distinct — one is a civil case against the state, the other criminal cases against individuals — but the timing has linked them in the public debate.
The department says 113 people nationwide have been charged with illegal voting or registration offenses, and has framed the California sweep as part of a broader national crackdown on election crime — one of the largest single-state actions to date.
Pushback From Sacramento
California Attorney General Rob Bonta moved quickly to rebut the department’s framing. He described the instances of noncitizen voting as “a drop in the bucket” — an attempt to put the roughly 25 to 27 allegedly illegal ballots in perspective against the tens of millions of votes cast in California across three election cycles.
Federal officials describe any illegal ballot as a serious federal crime that undermines confidence in elections, while state officials counter that the numbers are vanishingly small compared with overall turnout.
What Happens Next
The 28 defendants will now move through the federal court system, with initial appearances and arraignments expected in the coming weeks. Beyond any criminal sentence, some defendants could face immigration consequences: a conviction for a false claim of U.S. citizenship or fraud on a naturalization application can jeopardize a lawful permanent resident’s immigration status, potentially leading to removal proceedings even after a criminal case is resolved.
Meanwhile, the October 15 civil lawsuit against California over vote-by-mail ballots continues on its own track — keeping the state’s election procedures at the center of a national legal fight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Were the people charged U.S. citizens?
No. All 28 are lawful permanent residents — green card holders — not U.S. citizens. The Justice Department says none were eligible to vote in U.S. elections.
What exactly are they charged with?
Federal criminal complaints charge them with offenses including unlawful voting by an alien, making false claims of U.S. citizenship to register or vote, and making false statements on naturalization applications. The charges are felonies carrying up to five years in prison.
How many ballots were allegedly cast illegally?
According to the Justice Department, the defendants allegedly cast roughly 25 to 27 illegal ballots, most of them in the 2020, 2022, and 2024 elections.
Which California cities were named?
The complaints involve defendants in several California cities, including Long Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Sacramento, and San Jose, according to the announcement.
Have the defendants been convicted?
No. They have been charged in criminal complaints, and 11 were arrested on Monday. Everyone charged is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
How does this fit into a larger national effort?
The Justice Department says 113 people nationally have been charged with illegal voting or registration offenses, and described Monday’s California action as a coordinated effort by all four of the state’s U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
What was the October 15 lawsuit about?
Days before the charges were announced, the Justice Department sued California seeking to set aside more than 20,000 vote-by-mail ballots for citizenship verification. The lawsuit and the criminal charges are separate actions.
How did California’s attorney general respond?
California Attorney General Rob Bonta pushed back on the department’s framing, describing the instances of noncitizen voting as “a drop in the bucket” relative to the state’s total votes cast.
