SACRAMENTO, California.- California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on Saturday to the state's federal judges warning them to be ready for potential attempts by President Donald Trump's administration to seize ballots and ballot materials before the midterm election results are certified.
"Given the United States Department of Justice's persistence in advancing this baseless theory of criminal liability, I have grave concerns federal agents will seek search warrants to seize ballots and ballot materials before the election results are certified," Newsom wrote. He added that the only reason to use search warrants in that way would be to interfere in the state's "lawful counting of ballots and certifying the results of the election."
The warning letter comes in the middle of California's legal fight with the administration, which has demanded records from the state as part of a criminal investigation into alleged noncitizen voting. The Trump administration has alleged that more than 20,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in California, a claim the state and many experts have questioned.
On Friday, a federal appeals court rejected the administration's bid to set aside those ballots, in a 2-1 ruling that could set up a showdown at the United States Supreme Court. Separately, a federal judge ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening to prosecute state and local election officials in California who refuse to comply with the administration's election-related demands.
Newsom stressed in his letter that the United States Constitution assigns the administration of elections to the states. Voters go to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, to decide control of Congress for the last two years of Trump's term, with early voting already at record levels.
The governor said he knew of no ballot-seizure request so far, but asked the courts to be prepared. The Justice Department had not publicly responded to the warning at the time of publication.
Fuentes: Reuters, 31 de octubre de 2026; The Indian Express, 31 de octubre de 2026.