WOODLAND HILLS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY — November 3, 2026. FOX 11 Los Angeles reporter Ross Palumbo reported from a ballot drop box at the Woodland Hills Library as federal prosecutors pursued election-related charges against noncitizens and the Trump administration sought to have California segregate ballots from roughly 20,000 voters it described as potentially ineligible. The two developments are distinct: criminal charges against particular people do not establish that all 20,000 flagged voters were ineligible.
Six additional defendants, 34 charged in California operation
In a November 2 announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said six additional people from the Antelope and San Fernando valleys had been charged with making false statements on naturalization applications related to alleged unlawful registration and voting. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the operation had reached 34 defendants. Charges are allegations, not convictions. The number 34 refers to people charged, not 34 convictions or a verified count of fraudulent ballots in the 2026 election. Read the November 2 Justice Department announcement.
FOX 11 interviews a person facing allegations
Palumbo interviewed a man described in the broadcast as facing allegations concerning voting in an earlier election. The man said he did not understand the allegations, did not remember voting, and was unsure what forms he had received or completed through the DMV. The reporter described a language barrier and said the man was seeking legal representation. The broadcast transcript inconsistently references 2020 and 2024, so this article does not assert a specific year for that individual’s alleged vote without independently checking the charging document. His statements are his account, and prosecutors’ allegations remain unproven in court.
Supreme Court denies emergency request over approximately 20,000 ballots
In a separate case, the U.S. Supreme Court declined the Trump administration’s emergency request to force California to set aside ballots associated with approximately 20,000 people the federal government flagged as possible noncitizens. The one-line order, issued November 2, recorded no noted dissents and did not resolve the underlying citizenship status of each person. California officials challenged the reliability of the list and warned that the requested intervention could interfere with lawful voting. CBS News report on the order; Ninth Circuit opinion.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to grant emergency relief does not mean it determined that every disputed ballot was valid, nor that any particular person committed fraud. Existing California eligibility and ballot-processing rules continue to apply.
What voters should understand
Only eligible U.S. citizens may vote in federal elections. Lawful permanent residence alone does not confer federal voting rights. California’s DMV registration processes and election eligibility checks are separate from the criminal-law question of whether a particular person knowingly made a false claim or cast an unlawful ballot. Those questions must be evaluated using individual evidence and applicable law.
In the supplied FOX 11 segment, Palumbo described people returning ballots at Woodland Hills Library. The video does not establish wrongdoing by those voters, and California58 makes no such allegation.
Watch the FOX 11 report
Original FOX 11 Los Angeles video featuring Ross Palumbo. This is third-party journalism. California58 has paraphrased the supplied transcript because it contains duplicated and inconsistent automatic captions.
Sources: DOJ November 2 release; Supreme Court coverage; Ninth Circuit ruling.
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