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The full picture

Less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 US midterm elections, the Justice Department is fighting California over counting ballots from people it calls likely noncitizens.

Why it matters to you

  • Organizers say voting early gives people time to fix problems with their voter registration. They say it helps people avoid long lines. They also worry that fear of immigration agents, the FBI, or armed groups at polling places could scare some voters into staying home. source

  • In India, thousands of young protesters were rounded up and held in sports stadiums and community halls turned into temporary detention centers. This affects people's ability to protest in public. source

  • In Israel, Netanyahu and his main rivals say they will not partner with any Arab-led party after the vote. This could mean months of deadlock and another election. source

Different sides
  • US Justice Department (acting deputy attorney general Trent McCotter)

    Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime. Knowingly helping it happen is also against the law. Officials who count such ballots risk becoming "aiders and abettors," meaning people who help commit a crime.

    source
  • No Kings coalition (Ezra Levin of Indivisible)

    Saturday's events are an "anti-election sabotage effort." The best way to push back against sabotage is for many more people to vote, and to vote early.

    source
  • Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rivals

    They will not form a coalition (a governing partnership of parties) with any Arab-led party after the Oct. 27 election.

    source
What happened

  1. New polls showed Democrats ahead among Latino voters. Trump got low marks on the economy and on immigration enforcement. source

  2. The US Justice Department sued California. It wants to stop the state from counting certain mail ballots from people it says are likely not citizens. Los Angeles County officials had refused its demand to confirm the citizenship of people on a list. source

  3. A Justice Department letter warned that local officials who count ballots from suspected noncitizens could face criminal investigation and prosecution. source

  4. The No Kings coalition, a group of protest organizations, planned more than 3,000 events for Saturday to get people to vote early. source

  5. Police in India detained Abhijeet Dipke before a new protest in New Delhi. He founded a youth protest group called the Cockroach Janta Party. source

  6. Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's Oct. 27 national election. source

What to watch next
  • Whether a court lets the Justice Department stop California from counting the disputed mail ballots before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
  • Whether Saturday becomes the largest single day of early voting in US history, as organizers hope.
  • The result of Israel's Oct. 27 election, and whether any leader can form a government without Arab-led parties.
What we don't know yet
  • How many California voters are on the government's "likely noncitizen" list, and how many of them are actually not citizens.
  • How many local election officials the Justice Department may try to investigate or charge.
  • How California's state leaders will respond. They did not immediately comment.

Written by AI from 10 news stories. Every point links to the story it came from. Updated 17h ago.

Analysis

The Justice Department has escalated its fight with California ahead of next month's midterms. It sued the state seeking a court order to block tabulation of certain ballots it links to suspected noncitizens, and warned that local officials who process those ballots risk criminal investigation, after Los Angeles County refused a DOJ demand to confirm the citizenship of people on a list. The dispute bears on whether some Californians' ballots get counted and puts the local workers who run elections under legal threat; watch for how the court responds to the DOJ's request, as well as Brazil's October 25 runoff between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro and Israel's October 27 election.

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