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DOJ Threatens States with $1,000 Fines Over Voter Lawsuits

By Drooid · Oct 31, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

U.S. Department of Justice sent letters to election officials in 50 states threatening $1,000 fines and prison.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter signed the letters.
Letters challenged over 20,000 California voters and more than 400 Washington voters as non-citizens.
Judge James Boasberg ordered DOJ to disclose which states received demands since July 1.
Democratic groups, including Senators Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, sued DOJ, DHS, and President Donald Trump.

History

In August 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, registering about 250,000 African-American voters that year. The act’s Section 5 preclearance, upheld by the Supreme Court in 1966, gave the Justice Department—then led by Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach—authority to enforce registration standards. Today Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter’s letters to thousands of California and Washington voters revive that federal enforcement approach.

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In August 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, registering about 250,000 African-American voters that year. The act’s Section 5 preclearance, upheld by the Supreme Court in 1966, gave the Justice Department—then led by Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach—authority to enforce registration standards. Today Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter’s letters to thousands of California and Washington voters revive that federal enforcement approach.

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