Oct 9: Judge Sooknanan Blocks DOJ’s Unreliable Voter List in Election Case
Judge Sparkle Sooknanan barred DOJ on October 9 from using flawed California voter data.
Why it matters: This ruling challenges federal election oversight methods and enforces compliance with voter privacy and election laws. It sets precedent on the legal handling of voter data affecting election litigation and voter rights protection.
- October 9, 2026: Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ruled DOJ’s use of California voter lists violates federal law.
- DOJ flagged about 20,000 California voters as noncitizens and sought to withhold their ballots.
- An analysis found over 40% of DOJ’s flagged voters were not in official California rolls.
- October 28, 2026: Another federal judge denied DOJ’s request to halt processing of these ballots.
On October 9, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ruled that the Justice Department’s effort to cross-reference California’s voter registration lists to identify alleged noncitizens violated federal law protecting voter privacy and procedural protections.
The DOJ had demanded California officials separate ballots of about 20,000 voters suspected as noncitizens based on internal DOJ data. California election officials pushed back, calling the DOJ’s list "deeply flawed and risking disenfranchisement of eligible voters," as reported.
Independent analysis by UCLA’s Voting Rights Project confirmed over 40% of the DOJ-flagged names had no match in California’s official rolls, raising serious data accuracy concerns. This flawed data undermined DOJ’s demand to withhold ballots.
Subsequently, on October 28, another federal judge rejected DOJ's emergency request to suspend ballot counting, citing the risk of disenfranchising lawful voters based on unreliable data.
On November 2, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene, effectively letting the lower court rulings stand and allowing the ballots of the flagged voters to be counted.
Judge Sooknanan criticized DOJ’s approach, stating, "DOJ cannot run roughshod over longstanding laws crafted to protect Americans' rights." This case highlights legal tensions between federal election oversight and state administration amid high political stakes, emphasizing the need for accuracy and legal compliance in election data handling.
By the numbers:
- 20,000 — California voters flagged by DOJ as suspected noncitizens
- 40% — DOJ-flagged names found not on California’s official voter rolls
- October 9, 2026 — Date Judge Sooknanan barred DOJ’s voter list use