Appeals Judges Turn Down DOJ Request to Remove California Ballots
A 2-1 decision by the federal appellate court for the Ninth Circuit on October 30 denied the Justice Department’s emergency request to make California set aside mail ballots linked to about 20,000 people the administration says may not be U.S. citizens. The ballots remain in play as the midterm election approaches.
The majority said the administration had not shown that such extraordinary intervention during an ongoing election was clearly authorized by law. It also concluded that federal law had not displaced California’s established procedures for challenging ballots and removing ineligible voters, and said a change in procedures should be taken to Congress rather than the courts.
The judges cited the district court’s finding that officials could not feasibly identify and separate ballots belonging to specific people without potentially causing severe disruption to the election system. The district court had also questioned the reliability of the federal list. California disputes its accuracy, and officials have said processed ballots are anonymized and cannot be matched back to individual voters.
Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, arguing that separating the flagged ballots would be a limited way to allow time to check eligibility and ensure that only citizens vote. The decision marked another instance within seven days when the appeals panel denied the administration’s request. The Justice Department had not immediately said whether it would seek emergency review by the Supreme Court.
Court Rejects Trump Administration’s Late Push Against California Ballots
The 9th Circuit has again refused the Trump administration’s attempt to put roughly 20,000 California mail ballots in limbo over an unverified claim that voters may be noncitizens. The 2-1 ruling on October 30 keeps the ballots in the election process and rejects a federal demand that could disrupt voting already underway.
The majority said the administration had not shown that its emergency request was clearly required by law. It found that Congress had not displaced California’s procedures for challenging ballots and removing ineligible voters, and said any call for different rules belongs before Congress, not the courts.
The district court found no feasible way to isolate ballots tied to specific people without potentially catastrophic effects on election administration. It also questioned the government’s list, whose accuracy California disputes. Officials have said processed ballots are anonymized and cannot be traced back to individual voters. The court’s ruling underscores the risk of using disputed data and a last-minute federal intervention to burden eligible voters.
Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, calling separation a limited remedy that would allow citizenship checks. But the majority rejected that approach, and this marked another instance within seven days that the panel turned down the administration’s request. The Justice Department had not immediately said whether it would take the case to the Supreme Court.
Court Blocks DOJ Effort to Protect California’s Election Integrity
The 9th Circuit’s 2-1 ruling on October 30 denied the Justice Department’s bid to separate roughly 20,000 California ballots associated with people the administration says may be noncitizens. The decision leaves the ballots in play and turns away the federal government’s effort to verify eligibility before they are counted.
The majority said the administration had not shown that extraordinary relief during an ongoing election was clearly authorized by law. It also said Congress had not overridden California’s procedures for challenging ballots and removing ineligible voters, directing the government to take any proposed changes to Congress rather than the courts.
Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, arguing that keeping the flagged ballots separate would be a modest step that allowed time to check eligibility and protect the principle that only citizens vote. The majority instead relied on concerns that ballots could not feasibly be identified and segregated without severe disruption. California disputes the accuracy of the federal list, and officials say processed ballots are anonymized.
The decision represents another instance within seven days when the appeals panel denied the administration’s request. The dispute raises a consequential question about how to balance protection against ineligible voting with election procedures that courts say states control unless Congress changes the rules. The Justice Department had not immediately said whether it would seek Supreme Court review.
Reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Denver7, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, NBC News, Raw Story, The Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Blaze.
