Napa County, California

The Department of Justice sent letters to election officials in every California county demanding they identify potential noncitizens on voter rolls within 48 hours, warning of "significant federal scrutiny" and possible prosecution for noncompliance. The letters, affecting roughly 20,000 voters statewide, requested sensitive data including Social Security numbers. Officials were told to segregate, not cancel, affected ballots. California's attorney general said the lists contain errors, including people living outside the counties named, and Los Angeles County found over 40% of a sampled group had already-canceled registrations, with most showing no voting history and nearly 4 in 10 born in the U.S.

The demand follows a DOJ lawsuit against California and a statewide sweep charging 28 people with illegal registration, coming days before the midterms as a 9th Circuit panel weighs the state's compliance obligations. The DOJ says it is not requesting a purge or cancellation of registrations, only collaboration, but federal prosecutors warned that clerks who process a noncitizen's ballot could face legal jeopardy. Governor Gavin Newsom accused the DOJ of sending lists containing people who never voted or who live in the wrong county, calling it fabricated evidence of fraud. County officials in Napa, Contra Costa, Inyo, Mendocino and elsewhere questioned the data's accuracy and said they are proceeding with ballot counting as usual despite the pressure.

LeRoy Chatfield, a lifelong advocate for marginalized communities, died of natural causes on September 15 at age 92. A former member of the Congregation of Christian Brothers who taught for free in poor California communities, he left the order at 31 to join César Chávez's effort to organize farmworkers, becoming a key figure in building the United Farm Workers' early infrastructure, including its first medical plan and initial headquarters in Delano. He left the UFW in 1973.

Chatfield later managed Jerry Brown's gubernatorial campaign and became the first director of Brown's California Conservation Corps, opening 18 centers in its first year and a half. He went on to advocate for Sacramento's homeless population and, in his later years, built what is considered the definitive digital archive of the UFW's early history, eventually acquired by UC San Diego. His death comes months after allegations surfaced that Chávez had sexually abused women within the movement; friends and family say those allegations do not diminish Chatfield's own legacy of service. He is survived by his wife, five daughters and 10 grandchildren.

California voters decisively rejected the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, allowing him to remain in office through a special election that drew national attention as a proxy fight over COVID-19 policy and partisan politics. Newsom and allied Democrats, including visits from President Biden and Vice President Harris, framed the recall as a battle against "Trumpism" and anti-vaccine sentiment, a message that appeared to resonate once conservative talk radio host Larry Elder emerged as the leading Republican replacement candidate.

Elder, who had pledged to repeal the state's mask and vaccine mandates, conceded but vowed to keep fighting and teased a possible run in 2022. Other candidates, including Caitlyn Jenner, John Cox, Kevin Faulconer and Kevin Paffrath, failed to gain significant traction. Newsom's campaign had been damaged earlier by criticism over his attendance at a French Laundry dinner during pandemic restrictions, but shifting public concern over the Delta variant and Elder's anti-mandate stance ultimately helped him retain support from the state's heavily Democratic electorate.

The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco must return more than 650,000 ballots (over 1,400 boxes) seized in March from local election officials during an investigation into unsubstantiated fraud claims tied to a November special election on redistricting (Proposition 50). Justices appeared skeptical of arguments from Bianco's attorney, Bradley Hertz, who claimed sheriffs can seize ballots under warrant regardless of state election law, and that Attorney General Rob Bonta lacks authority to order sheriffs to stand down. Justices questioned both points, with one calling Hertz's reasoning "bizarre" and another "counterintuitive."

Bianco, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate, defied Bonta's order to halt the seizure and began counting ballots before the state Supreme Court intervened in April. Bianco said he would comply if ordered to return the ballots but may continue his investigation regardless. Voting rights advocates, including likely gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, frame the case as a test of sheriff authority ahead of the 2026 midterms amid broader efforts by Trump-aligned officials to challenge election administration. A ruling is expected in coming months.