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DOJ orders California counties to set aside ballots
Federal prosecutors gave Contra Costa and Santa Clara registrars forty-eight hours to check lists totaling more than 1,300 voters; noncitizen voting remains incredibly rare.
On air: Vera Bullock on Late Night BBNPublished
Watch it as it aired: Vera Bullock on this story, from Late Night BBN at 1:48 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The Guardian's, the jokes are ours.
From the show
At a glance
- First reported by The Guardian: “California officials ordered by DoJ to set aside ‘likely’ noncitizen ballots”, with reporting from Raw Story, CBS News and San Francisco Chronicle.
- Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 1:48 AM ET on Late Night BBN, by Vera Bullock.
- Topics: DOJ, California.
- BBN covered this story before: DOJ asks appeals court to step in on California mail ballots (October 23).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- The GuardianCalifornia officials ordered by DoJ to set aside ‘likely’ noncitizen ballots
- Raw StoryTrump’s DOJ threatens election officials with 48-hour ultimatum to set aside ballots - Raw Story October 23, 2026 · facts used on air
- CBS NewsDOJ demands that some California counties set aside and verify alleged noncitizen ballots within 48 hours - CBS News October 23, 2026 · facts used on air
- San Francisco ChronicleDOJ gives local California registrars 48 hours to quarantine suspected noncitizen ballots October 23, 2026 · facts used on air
What BBN said about it
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorFederal prosecutors sent letters to California county registrars demanding they set aside ballots the Justice Department says may belong to noncitizens.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorMy guest has built a morning routine around it. Saffron, what's in it?
Saffron Bellweather-OseiStep one is celery juice, step two is forty-eight hours, which is what Contra Costa got to check more than four hundred voters.
Saffron Bellweather-OseiUse code ROUTINE for fifteen percent off.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorForty-eight hours for four hundred voters is a government deadline, not a morning routine.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorAnd the Contra Costa clerk-recorder said they aren't doing anything wrong and are following state and federal election law.
Saffron Bellweather-OseiWhich is why I call it the Sequester Sip. At least eighteen counties got letters, so that's eighteen chances to bundle.
Saffron Bellweather-OseiCode SEQUESTER, twenty-two percent off.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThat's a different code.
Saffron Bellweather-OseiThe first one sold out.
Saffron Bellweather-OseiLook, the data says illegal voting by noncitizens is incredibly rare, and I say rare is the best kind of luxury.
Saffron Bellweather-OseiCode RAREBALLOT, thirty-one percent off.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI want to be positive.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorTwenty-eight people charged out of a list of twenty thousand is a highly focused enforcement pilot, and I stand by that.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorBut it's not a product line, Saffron.
Saffron Bellweather-OseiEverything's a product line when you drink the juice. Code PILOT, forty percent off, and I checked the jar, it's very verified.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorYour routine gets a six out of ten. The celery was fine.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSaffron, I tried VOTE-twenty on your website and it says that code does not exist.
Saffron Bellweather-OseiThat's why it's exclusive.
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Photo: Tomascastelazo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: NASA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: lubasi · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
The story so far
- Trump: California officials will 'go to jail' if state ignores DOJ… · The Hill
- DOJ sues California over 20,000 alleged noncitizen mail ballots · Breitbart
- DOJ charges 28 California residents with voting crimes · The New York Times
- The latest: DOJ voting charges, Kim photos, Vance heckler · NPR
- California sweep: DOJ now wants 20,000 ballots set aside · TheBlaze
- DOJ asks appeals court to step in on California mail ballots · The Hill
- DOJ orders California counties to set aside ballots (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 24, 2026 · the U.S. archive · all months
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