The findings were disclosed in court filings Tuesday, Oct. 20, as California challenges the U.S. Department of Justice’s effort to require the state to investigate the list and segregate ballots associated with the people named before votes are counted. State officials argue the request is unworkable so close to the election and could violate state and federal election laws.

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said 7,035 names on the list had county addresses, with some appearing more than once. County staff reviewed a sample of 200 records to assess the list’s accuracy.

The review is preliminary, and officials are continuing quality checks. But Assistant Registrar-Recorder Monica Flores told the court the sample indicated the list was “unreliable.” Among records where a person’s birthplace was meaningfully reported, 38.9% indicated the person was born in the United States, which Flores said is strong evidence of citizenship. The filings do not make clear how many records included usable birthplace information, so the figure cannot be applied to the full list.

Of the 200 records reviewed, 112 were linked to registrations that were canceled or inactive, and about 70% of the people sampled had no voting history, according to the county filing. California’s online voter registration form asks for a person’s birthplace, but answering is optional. With narrow exceptions, people born in the United States are citizens.

The Justice Department delivered the list to Los Angeles County on a thumb drive last week. County officials initially declined to open it, citing the security risk of connecting an unknown device to a government computer. The department then emailed a spreadsheet containing the same names.

The state described the federal lawsuit as, “At best, this litigation is a reckless political stunt,” and said it threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Californians. The Justice Department says California must independently verify the citizenship of people on the list whose ballots are cast. Deputy press secretary Kiersten Pels said the state “cannot facilitate the violation of federal law” and accused it of “willful blindness.”

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter acknowledged Monday that the list could contain errors, saying, “There may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens, we’re not perfect.”

The dispute comes amid a broader federal push to investigate alleged noncitizen voting. The Justice Department announced criminal charges against 28 people in California on Monday; all are legal permanent residents, or green-card holders. The charges are allegations, and research has found that in the rare instances when noncitizens vote, green-card holders may misunderstand eligibility rules.

The county’s review does not establish how many names on the statewide list are inaccurate. But it raises questions about using an unverified federal list to affect ballot handling in an election, when errors could burden eligible voters as well as election administrators.