Appeals court again rejects Trump bid to block counting of California ballots
A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration's latest attempt to stop California counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 voters it alleges are likely noncitizens, its second defeat on the issue this week.
A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Trump administration's latest attempt to prevent California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters the federal government alleges are likely noncitizens, handing the administration its second defeat on the issue this week.
In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals declined the Justice Department's request to block the ballots from being counted while its lawsuit against California proceeds. The ruling leaves California's existing ballot-counting procedures in place just days before the November 3 midterm elections.
Judges Mark Bennett, appointed by President Donald Trump, and Gabriel Sanchez, appointed by former President Joe Biden, formed the majority. They pointed to a lower court's concerns about the reliability of the federal government's voter list. Judge Patrick Bumatay, also a Trump appointee, dissented.
The majority found there was no feasible way to identify and separate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system, echoing the district court's reasoning. The court also said that because Congress had not exercised its power under the Elections Clause to override California's established laws for challenging ballots or removing ineligible voters, the state's statutory scheme remained the only method for doing so.
The dispute stems from a Justice Department lawsuit filed on October 15 seeking to require California and Los Angeles County election officials to separate ballots connected to voters the federal government identified as likely noncitizens, and to hold them apart until officials verified that the voters were US citizens.
US District Judge David O. Carter denied the administration's request for a temporary restraining order on October 28, saying the proposed order would wreak havoc and disrupt the election and could have a chilling effect on election workers and voters. Carter also appointed a special master to develop the factual record behind the administration's claims, after noting that both sides agreed the list included an unspecified number of citizens.
California has argued that the federal list is highly unreliable and likely includes many citizens, and has told the court it cannot logistically separate the ballots in time for the December 3 county certification deadline. The Justice Department, by contrast, argued that a fast ruling was essential because of what it called irreversible ballot processing occurring on an ongoing basis.
Friday's decision does not end the underlying lawsuit, but it leaves the disputed ballots subject to California's normal election procedures as voting continues. It also follows a separate escalation in the same dispute: the Justice Department has issued subpoenas to Los Angeles County election employees, ordering them to appear in court on November 4, the day after Election Day, and to produce documents about the federal letters on voter rolls.
In a separate case in Washington, Democratic Party leaders have sued to block the administration from interfering with state election procedures. Chief Judge James Boasberg has ordered the administration to identify all states where it has pressured officials over noncitizen voting, and has said he intends to rule by Monday, the eve of Election Day, on a request to bar the conduct the Democrats challenge.
What happens next will therefore play out on two tracks: the California lawsuit continues, with the disputed ballots counted under state procedures unless a higher court intervenes, while the Washington case could produce a ruling on the eve of the election that shapes what federal officials may do in the final hours of voting. For now, California counties keep counting, and the ballots at the centre of the fight remain in the count.
