(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion to intervene in Judicial Watch’s federal lawsuit filed on behalf of a California political candidate and a state political party against the State of California due to its failure to maintain accurate voter rolls as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
The United States filed its motion and a proposed complaint in intervention in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Judicial Watch’s May 2026 lawsuit (Don Wagner et al. v. Shirley N. Weber, in her official capacity as California Secretary of State (No. 8:26-cv-01263)).
“The Justice Department is right following Judicial Watch’s lead and join our fight to clean up California’s dirty voting rolls,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The Justice Department is on target in calling California’s voting rolls ‘among the worst in the nation.’ Judicial Watch lawsuits and legal action have already caused the removal of 6 million dirty voter names from the rolls. Another million or so must be cleaned further in California.”
The Justice Department’s proposed complaint in intervention names California Secretary of State Shirley Weber as a defendant and states the intervention was filed “to enforce provisions of the National Voter Registration and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).”
Federal law requires most inactive voter registrations to be removed after two general federal elections. Judicial Watch’s federal lawsuit alleges, based on admissions in prior Judicial Watch litigation, that 873,092 California voter registrations have remained continuously inactive for at least three federal elections, and some for much longer. Of these registrations, 326,808 have remained continuously inactive through at least three consecutive federal general elections, while 151,202 have remained inactive through at least four consecutive federal general elections.
In addition, 33,922 voter registrations have remained continuously inactive through at least five consecutive federal general elections — dating back at least ten years, to before the November 5, 2016, presidential election.
Under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), states are required to make reasonable efforts to remove ineligible voters from the voter rolls, including those who have died or moved. The lawsuit also alleges, again citing admissions by California officials, that the state takes no effective action to require counties to comply with the NVRA. As a result, they do not comply.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Don Wagner, an elected member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and candidate for California Secretary of State, and the American Independent Party of California.
Judicial Watch is assisted by the Benbrook Law Group of Sacramento, California.
Judicial Watch is a national leader in election integrity and voting rights litigation, with a record of successful lawsuits enforcing constitutional redistricting standards and cleaning voter rolls nationwide.
Judicial Watch’s lawsuits and legal actions have caused the removal of six million ineligible names from voter lists nationwide.
Robert Popper, a Judicial Watch senior attorney, leads its election law program. Popper was previously in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, where he managed voting rights investigations, litigations, consent decrees, and settlements in dozens of states.
In April 2026, Judicial Watch announced a settlement in its federal lawsuit against Oregon election officials, which confirms 800,000 ineligible voter names are slated for review and removal from voter registration lists.
Colorado recently removed 372,000 ineligible voter names thanks to a Judicial Watch lawsuit and settlement addressing the state’s compliance with federal voter list maintenance requirements.
In Kentucky, state election board officials reported that “roughly 735,000 ineligible voter registrations” have been removed from voter rolls, as part of a 2018 consent decree settling a Judicial Watch lawsuit.
As part of its 2022 settlement, New York City alone has removed 918,139 ineligible names from its rolls: data show 477,056 removals between March 2023 and February 2025, which is in addition to the 441,083 previously reported removals.
Judicial Watch legal pressure also resulted in election roll clean-ups in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Ohio.
A federal court in Illinois has ruled that Judicial Watch’s lawsuit to force the cleaning of voter rolls may proceed in that state.
In January 2026, in a historic case filed by Judicial Watch, the Supreme Court decided 7-2 in favor of Congressman Mike Bost and two presidential electors who were before the court to vindicate their standing to challenge an Illinois law allowing the counting of ballots received up to 14 days after Election Day.
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