DOJ moves to drop its suit to set aside about 20,000 California ballots, saying the relief is "no longer available" (update, Nov. 6, 2026)

Case

On Nov. 6, 2026, the Justice Department asked to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit seeking to stop California from counting about 20,000 ballots it said went to alleged noncitizens, saying the state would have "commingled" them with lawful ballots before a hearing set for about a week later. The judge, the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court had earlier refused DOJ's emergency requests. DOJ says it will pursue suspected election-law violations through other cases; California says the list was out of date and included legitimate voters.

What happened (Nov. 6-7, 2026)
On Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, the Justice Department moved to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit asking a federal court to stop California from counting about 20,000 ballots DOJ alleged went to noncitizens.
DOJ's motion said the relief it sought "is no longer available" and that voluntary dismissal was therefore "necessary"; it argued California would have "commingled the challenged ballots with lawful ones" by the hearing date.
A hearing was set for about a week later, at which a special master was to assess the accuracy of DOJ's list and whether California could separate the ballots.
The request came after Judge David O. Carter denied DOJ's request, warning that separating ballots so late could disenfranchise citizens and "wreak havoc" on the midterms; the Supreme Court rejected DOJ's emergency appeal on Nov. 2 in an unsigned order.
AP reported that as of Nov. 6 California had processed about 9 million ballots, with nearly 5 million left to count.
DOJ remains in litigation with immigrant and voting-rights groups over its use of the noncitizen list, and AP reported DOJ will keep pursuing suspected election-law violations through other cases.
California prosecutors have arrested over 30 noncitizens accused of illegally registering to vote, and election clerks received grand jury subpoenas for November; both outlets said it was unclear who is being charged, and CBS did not describe the grand jury as a federal DOJ probe.

Perspectives

Official position — Justice Department (court filing)
DOJ's filing frames the dismissal as a matter of timing, not of the merits: it says the relief it needed is no longer available because California will have mixed the challenged ballots with lawful ones. DOJ's position throughout has been that only citizens may vote and that it identified thousands of likely foreign nationals on California's rolls. It did not respond to AP's request for comment, and AP reported it will pursue suspected violations in other cases.

Critic — California officials and Judge David O. Carter
California officials have said DOJ's list was out of date and included legitimate voters, and Judge Carter echoed that view in his order denying DOJ's request, warning that separating ballots late could disenfranchise citizens. No new California statement on the dismissal appeared in the CBS or AP reports reviewed.

Note
DOJ says it had identified thousands of likely noncitizens on California's rolls; California says the list was out of date and included legitimate voters, and DOJ has not shown listed people cast illegal ballots.

Sources
[1] CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-drops-lawsuit-california-ballots-alleged-noncitizens/) · 2026-11-06
[2] AP (via ABC7 Los Angeles) (https://abc7.com/post/doj-drops-bid-force-california-set-aside-ballots-allegedly-sent-noncitizens/20021434/) · 2026-11-07
[3] AP (via PBS NewsHour) (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/justice-department-drops-bid-to-force-california-to-set-aside-disputed-ballots) · 2026-11-07

Connections

Cause and effect — DOJ demands California set aside ballots of alleged noncitizens, then sues (Oct. 13-15, 2026)
The Nov. 6 motion to dismiss ends the Oct. 15 lawsuit that followed DOJ's Oct. 13 demand.

Related — DOJ serves grand jury subpoenas on Los Angeles County election staff in noncitizen-voting probe, a day after judge rejects ballot bid (update, Oct. 29-30, 2026)
AP and CBS report the clerks' grand jury subpoenas for November remain, with unclear targets, as DOJ drops the civil suit.