Lawsuit Exposes 873,000 ‘Ghost’ Voters in California
A conservative watchdog group sued California's Secretary of State, alleging over 870,000 inactive voter registrations remain improperly on state rolls in violation of federal election law.
Don Wagner, an Orange County Supervisor and Republican candidate for secretary of state, joined forces with the American Independent Party of California to sue incumbent Secretary of State Shirley Weber, according to New York Post. The legal action claims that 873,092 inactive voter registrations have not been removed despite federal requirements.
The complaint was filed through Judicial Watch, a conservative voting integrity organization. The lawsuit alleges that Weber, a Democrat, has violated federal law mandating the removal of most inactive voter registrations after two general federal elections.
According to the suit, more than 800,000 registrations have remained inactive on the rolls for at least three elections. The filing further states that 151,202 registrations have stayed on the rolls after at least four consecutive elections.
The legal challenge also accuses the state of failing to take effective action to require counties to address the problem, citing admissions from California officials themselves.
Previous Settlement and Ongoing Concerns
California currently has over 23 million registered voters. In 2019, Judicial Watch reached a settlement with California and Los Angeles County that resulted in the removal of more than 1.2 million names from voter rolls.
Since that settlement, Judicial Watch claims that 20 counties across the state have removed only 50 or fewer inactive voters, despite census data indicating hundreds of thousands of residents have left California.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, issued a statement declaring that the lawsuit confirms California faces a voter roll crisis. Dirty voting rolls can mean dirty elections, Fitton said, urging California and its counties to immediately clean more than 870,000 names from voting lists.
Legal Action and Security Incidents
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court Central District of California Western Division. It seeks to force the state to halt further violations and implement a new voter-roll maintenance program to remove ineligible voters.
California’s election system has faced scrutiny from Republicans despite state Democrats characterizing it as safe and secure. President Trump has described the state’s elections as fraudulent.
Just days before the primary, questionable voting incidents occurred. On Sunday, officials discovered a voting site had been vandalized and mail-in ballots burned in a drop box. The same day, a Bay Area voter arrived at a closed ballot center on Sunday night only to find the doors unlocked and the building unsecured.
Weber’s office was contacted for comment on the lawsuit, as New York Post reports.
With information from New York Post
