58% of voters flagged by Trump admin as potential noncitizen voters do appear on California voter rolls: report

The analysis was submitted in a legal filing by two analysts with the University of California, Los Angeles’ Voting Rights Project, which is challenging the Trump administration’s efforts alongside the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). The filing was also co-signed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra.

The researchers examined the 20,930 names that the Department of Justice identified as potential noncitizen voters and demanded California officials investigate. The DOJ had requested those ballots be set aside until their eligibility could be determined.

According to the Associated Press, the UCLA analysis found that 8,880 names, or roughly 42 percent of the list, did not correspond to anyone in California’s current voter file. Researchers also identified at least 22 US citizens on the list.

However, that leaves the remaining 58 percent of individuals identified as potential noncitizens by the Trump administration as a match with individuals in California’s voter database. Rather than focus on this aspect, the researchers highlighted the mismatch.

“The expert analysis further makes clear that the mandated voter list endangers a significant number of eligible California voters,” the filing said.

Bill Essayli, First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California, rejected the analysis. He accused the report of being politically motivated and contradicting evidence gathered by federal investigators.

“This is a bogus report by the activist illegal immigrant rights group CHIRLA. How would they know who is registered to vote and who is a citizen? They don’t (and shouldn’t) have access to any official records,” Essayli wrote on X.

“It’s remarkable that the media accepts whatever these people say as gospel yet won’t report on the sworn declarations we filed in evidence confirming more than 20,000 noncitizens are suspected to be on California’s voter rolls based on official USCIS records,” he continued. “This report also contradicts LA County’s report, which sampled 200 people on the list, all 200 of whom were re-confirmed as foreign-born aliens.”

The Trump administration has argued that its investigation is necessary to ensure that only American citizens participate in federal elections. However, a federal judge in California on Friday ordered the DOJ to stop sending certain demands to state officials, prompting the Trump administration to appeal the ruling.