The Justice Department (DOJ) asked a federal appeals court to stop California from counting ballots from more than 20,000 people that federal agencies flagged as “likely noncitizens” [1]. At a rare Sunday hearing, government lawyers struggled to explain how that list was built [2]. The same week, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey helped launch a startup that plans to gene-edit dogs for the U.S. military [8][9], and a Google DeepMind engineer resigned over the company’s military contracts [10][11].
This week’s through-line traces the federal government and its tech partners making high-stakes decisions with data and tools the public cannot inspect.
Palan-Week
Can a federal list stop a state from counting votes?
What happened. DOJ sued California and Los Angeles County on Oct. 15, 2026, one week after mail ballots went out to every registered voter [2]. It wants officials to set aside ballots from more than 20,000 people federal agencies flagged as “likely noncitizens” until their citizenship is verified [1]. The department appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals before U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled, and Carter has set a hearing for Tuesday, Oct. 27 [1].
At the Oct. 25 hearing, two of the three judges said they doubted the appeals court had jurisdiction [2]. Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, asked how the court could issue an injunction “entirely inconsistent with the law the California legislature has adopted pursuant to the Elections Clause” [2]. DOJ attorney Matthew Donnelly struggled to explain how the 20,000 names were flagged, including the role of an unidentified third party and how the government got California’s voter roll [2].
Los Angeles County checked a sample of the list and found 1 in 4 people on it were born in the United States [1]. The county said DOJ gave “no information on how the list was compiled” [1]. So far the administration has charged 28 people in California with voting-related crimes [2].
The list is not the only federal data effort in court. A federal judge in California limited a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) voter-fraud field operation, called the Unlawful Voter Initiative, across nine states, citing concerns that DHS lists contained citizens’ names [4]. PBS NewsHour’s Liz Landers reported that a recent federal list sent to Nevada flagged people who all turned out to be U.S. citizens [4].
“An order holding ballots on the basis of unreliable voter-roll maintenance lists would establish that any federal agency, armed with a list, may halt the count in any county in the nation.” — Los Angeles County, in its brief to the 9th Circuit [1]
Why it matters. Voters on the list could have their ballots held without knowing how they were flagged [1][2]. DOJ is threatening similar suits to stop ballot counting or certification in other states, so this case could set the template [2].
The other side. Attorney General Todd Blanche said DOJ is “not trying to create chaos” and asked why anyone presented with evidence of 20,000 ineligible voters receiving ballots would not act [4]. Donnelly said the emergency exists “because the mail-in voting process is already occurring on a massive scale” [2]. Judge Patrick Bumatay, also a Trump appointee, said the government “is also concerned about not having the illegal vote count” [2]. Noncitizen voting is already illegal, and documented cases are rare; New Jersey found a software glitch that let 6,600 noncitizens register, 340 of whom voted [4].
Open questions.
Who is the unidentified third party that analyzed the voter data, and what records did it use?
If one county’s sample found 1 in 4 names were U.S.-born, what standard should a federal list meet before it can pause a count?
Who audits the data DHS and DOJ are using to flag voters?
🗒️ Disclosure: Democracy Docket’s founder, Marc Elias, chairs the Elias Law Group, which represents proposed intervenors in the California case [1].
Is Silicon Valley’s defense boom now breeding soldiers?
What happened. Warhound, a startup from Luckey and Colossal Biosciences co-founder Ben Lamm, came out of stealth with $200 million to “rebuild America’s domestic supply of elite working dogs” [8]. Lamm told Wired the company is gene-editing its first batch of dogs and expects the first puppies in early 2027 [8]. Warhound’s dogs will carry “Anduril’s advanced cybernetic Augments, software, and battlefield situational awareness,” according to its press release [8].
The CEO is David Spirk, a former Department of Defense (DoD) chief data officer who most recently worked at Palantir [8]. Investors include In-Q-Tel, the venture firm founded by the CIA, along with Sequoia Capital, ARK Invest and 8VC [8][9]. Luckey and Anduril hold no equity, while Colossal does have an ownership stake [8].
Why it matters. The military uses about 1,600 dogs, mostly for bomb and drug detection [9]. Lamm has described future edits for speed, agility and smell, including wolf olfactory genes [8][9]. That puts genetic engineering of animals into the same defense-tech pipeline as drones and targeting software.
The other side. Warhound says about 80% of military dogs come from Europe and fewer than half finish training, and it frames the company as a supply-chain fix [9]. Lamm said early edits target health problems such as hip dysplasia [8]. The company plans to operate under the guidance of the American Humane Society [8].
Open questions.
Who sets ethical limits on gene-editing animals for war: the Pentagon, regulators or the company?
What does an intelligence-community investor want from a working-dog startup?
Where is the line between “body armor” and cybernetic weapons on a living animal?
Will engineers keep walking away from military AI?
What happened. Sofia Liguori, a DeepMind research engineer in London, resigned over Google’s military contracts with the U.S. and Israel [10]. She told The Intercept she could not keep working for a company building technology that “automatically makes it easier to escalate the brutality of war” [10]. Il Sole 24 Ore, citing BBC reporting, said Google faces a number of resignations from employees protesting military use of its AI [11].
Liguori pointed to Project Nimbus, Google’s cloud and AI contract serving Israel’s military, and to Google’s classified military AI contract with the Pentagon announced in April [10]. She said internal posts using the word “genocide” were deleted under company policy [10].
Why it matters. Google, like other U.S. tech giants, signed contracts this year to bring AI into classified military environments [11].
The other side. A Google spokesperson said the company follows “a consistent process for assessing and entering into these contracts, in accordance with our terms of use and our AI principles” [11]. Google also said employees have dedicated channels to raise concerns [11].
Open questions.
Do resignations change company policy, or just clear out dissent?
What does “administrative” military AI become once it is cleared for classified work?
Watch next week
Judge Carter’s hearing on the California ballot lawsuit is set for Tuesday, Oct. 27 [1], and the 9th Circuit panel said it would rule as fast as possible [2].
Election Day is Nov. 3 [3]. DOJ plans to send 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states, more than double the 388 sent in 2022 [5]. DOJ has also dropped a long-held rule barring prosecutors from serving as monitors [5].
Key Takeaways
DOJ wants 20,000 California ballots held, but its lawyer could not explain how the list was built, and one county’s sample found 1 in 4 names were U.S.-born [1][2].
Anduril’s founder co-launched a $200 million startup to gene-edit military dogs, run by a former Palantir executive and backed by the CIA-founded In-Q-Tel [8][9].
A DeepMind engineer quit over Google’s military AI contracts as Google moves AI into classified military work [10][11].
Orgs and Concepts Mentioned
Organizations/Programs
Warhound: Texas-based startup founded by Palmer Luckey and Ben Lamm to gene-edit and clone military working dogs [8].
In-Q-Tel: Venture capital firm founded by the CIA; a Warhound investor [9].
Unlawful Voter Initiative: DHS operation using hundreds of agents to look for voter fraud, now limited by a federal court in nine states [4].
Project Nimbus: Google’s contract furnishing Israel’s military with advanced AI tools [10].
Concepts/Terms
Elections Clause: The part of the U.S. Constitution that lets states administer elections [3].
En banc review: A rehearing by the full appeals court, which California said it would seek if the panel rules against it [1].
IL6: The cloud security level required to handle classified workloads, which Liguori said Google ramped up for its cloud [10].
What you can do: If you see something irregular at the polls - write it down; take a picture or record a video of what happened; post it online; forward it to your trusted media sources; and report it to your member of Congress, a local election official or a voting rights group [5].
Related reading
Weekly Roundup: DHS appointees asked CISA to secretly hack a voting machine, and more
This Week in Palantalk: ICE’s $100 Million Intelligence Network, the Voter-Data Fight & More
Palantalk | E55 - The Latest On the New Forever War, The Surveillance Machine & More
Palantalk - where we talk tech, no fascism.
Sources
Democracy Docket — Appeals court to hear DOJ’s dangerous bid to block California from counting votes. By Alexandra Hutzler, published Oct 24, 2026
Democracy Docket — Appeals court appears skeptical of DOJ’s emergency bid to block 20,000 ballots in California. By Alexandra Hutzler, published Oct 25, 2026
Al Jazeera — US appeals court sceptical of Trump’s lawsuit over California voter rolls. By Al Jazeera Staff, published Oct 26, 2026
PBS NewsHour — DOJ monitoring plans and DHS voter checks raise concerns of election interference. By Liz Landers, Doug Adams, published Oct 22, 2026
PBS NewsHour — DOJ has monitored elections for decades. Here’s why some state officials are concerned this year. By Liz Landers, Joshua Barajas, published Oct 23, 2026
Wired — Palmer Luckey and Ben Lamm Made a Genetically Modified Military Dog Startup. By Kate Knibbs, published Oct 22, 2026
Mother Jones — Palmer Luckey Just Announced a Genetically Engineered War Dog Startup. By Sophie Hurwitz, published Oct 23, 2026
The Intercept — Google DeepMind Engineer Resigns in Protest of Pentagon Contract. By Sam Biddle, published Oct 21, 2026
en.ilsole24ore.com — Google employees leave DeepMind in protest against the military use of AI. published Oct 21, 2026
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