WASHINGTON, D.C. – Far-left California Democrats are under renewed scrutiny after admitting the state does not track noncitizens on its voter rolls as required by federal law. At the same time, a Department of Homeland Security review identified approximately 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote across California and three other states, prompting calls for immediate action to remove ineligible registrants from the voter rolls.
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California Admits It Doesn’t Track Noncitizens On Voter Rolls As Federal Law Requires
The Federalist
August 17, 2026
"For years, Americans have been told that concerns about noncitizens voting are a myth, a right-wing talking point unworthy of serious attention. California’s own secretary of state and attorney general have proven otherwise, however, not by admitting the state has no idea whether, or how often, it’s even happening, but by indicating the state isn’t bothering to track it.
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A few weeks ago, the ACLJ submitted two California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests — one to the California secretary of state and one to Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office — seeking records on how the state maintains the integrity of its voter rolls. The Attorney General’s Office took an extension, ultimately responding on Aug. 10.
The Secretary of State’s Office responded first, but refused to provide any records responsive to our request. According to its answer, the statewide voter registration system simply “does not contain” a specific cancellation reason for non-citizenship. In other words, the state cannot tell us how many noncitizens have ever been removed from its voter rolls — because it doesn’t keep that information at all.
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We asked California’s DOJ for three things: Records on the programs and activities the state uses to keep its official voter rolls accurate and current; records on the state’s policies for handling investigative referrals of illegal voting; records on the outcomes of those illegal-voting referrals, with private information about the individuals involved excluded.
The answer to our second request was blunt. The California DOJ responded to our FOIA, stating it has no records “containing or addressing ‘policies’ that are specific to handling ‘investigative referrals for illegal voting.’”
California’s own Department of Justice — the agency charged with enforcing the state’s election laws — has no written policy for what happens when someone reports illegal voting. Not redacted. Not withheld. Nonexistent.
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The problem for California? Federal law requires every state to maintain records showing how it safeguards the accuracy of its voter rolls and to make those records available to the public. Specifically, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), 52 U.S.C. § 20507, requires each state to retain, for at least two years, and make available for public inspection, records showing how it works to keep its official voter rolls accurate and current.
But California’s secretary of state just admitted in writing that it keeps no such records regarding the removal of noncitizens from its rolls. That’s convenient. But it’s also unlawful.
To be clear, this isn’t a case of the state simply lacking a category for record-keeping in general. California’s own system does track cancellations for other reasons — death, moving out of state, felony convictions — that strip voting rights. Those categories exist and are documented. The one category missing is citizenship. That’s not an oversight; that’s a choice.
And here’s where the state undermines itself. In that same response from the secretary of state, California pointed out that voters must attest, under penalty of perjury, that they meet every eligibility requirement, including citizenship, and that state law clearly bars noncitizens from registering.
Translation: Don’t worry, it’s illegal. But if the state isn’t tracking when that law gets broken, and someone is removed for violating it, and the attorney general (potentially) isn’t keeping records of investigative referrals of illegal voting, that reassurance is hollow. You cannot claim a safeguard is working if you have no records showing whether it’s ever been triggered, or how it’s been investigated.
It’s also worth noting that California doesn’t require proof of citizenship or lawful presence for a certain category of driver’s license, AB 60 — the same kind of licensing pathway that triggered New Jersey’s noncitizen voter roll problem. And driver’s licenses are used to establish identity.
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The California Secretary of State’s Office has now told the country that it doesn’t know how many noncitizens have been removed from its voter rolls, and the Attorney General’s Office admitted that it has no formal policy for investigating illegal voting when it’s reported. That’s not a technicality. That’s a transparency failure in need of further investigation."
