Trump DOJ wants California to block ballots. The state disputes its evidence

The Trump administration is suing California, trying to stop the state from counting mail-in ballots from thousands of people it suspects are not U.S. citizens. And with the midterms less than three weeks away, California officials are pushing back hard. The Justice Department says it has identified more than 20,000 people on California's voter rolls who may not be citizens. It wants a federal judge to block the state from counting their mail ballots until their citizenship can be verified. But California says the government hasn't provided reliable evidence that those voters are ineligible. The lawsuit accuses California of refusing to work with federal officials to correct its voter rolls. Attorney General Todd Blanche says the state was given a chance to address the concerns. In a statement, he wrote, If found responsible in a court of law, the state of California will have seriously undermined confidence in our electoral system. On social media, Gov. Gavin Newsom called the lawsuit a quote, sad, desperate attempt to suppress California voters just weeks before the election. And California Attorney General Rob Bonta says the state will fight the case in court. He calls it an attempt to advance, quote, conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud that does not exist. The Justice Department has filed dozens of lawsuits over state voter rolls. CBS News reports it has lost 26 of those cases so far without a single legal victory.