Trump DOJ Tries To Block 20,000 California Voters' Ballots Over Citizenship Claims, Appeals Court Declines Bid

A federal appeals court has declined the Trump administration's emergency bid to stop California from counting mail ballots from approximately 20,000 registered voters whom it alleges may be non-citizens, leaving the underlying dispute to a district judge.

The Ninth Circuit's 2-1 decision on 26 October dismissed the appeal because the lower court had not been given an adequate opportunity to consider the government's request. It did not establish that the people identified by federal officials were ineligible to vote.

The case remains active ahead of the 3 November midterm elections. The administration has not identified how many people on its list have actually returned ballots, a distinction between potentially affected registrations and votes already cast.

Federal Officials Demand Citizenship Checks

The Justice Department filed its lawsuit on 15 October after working with the Department of Homeland Security to identify people it considers likely to be non-citizens on California's voter rolls.

Federal officials argue that ballots associated with those individuals should be separated and withheld from counting until citizenship can be verified. The department says its action is intended to prevent unlawful participation in federal elections. California disputes the reliability of the information underpinning that demand.

According to the appeals court's account, the federal government supplied its list on 13 October and sought a review within 48 hours. The lawsuit followed when California declined to comply with the requested process.

The central disagreement concerns both the accuracy of the list and whether federal officials can require California to change its ballot-handling procedures while an election is underway.

Judges Question the Rush To Appeal

The administration initially requested relief by election day. District Judge David O. Carter scheduled a hearing for 27 October, a week before that deadline.

Federal lawyers subsequently demanded a ruling by noon on 22 October, roughly 15 hours after submitting their expedited request. When Carter did not rule within that period, the government appealed, treating the absence of a decision as an effective denial.

The appellate majority rejected that approach. Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and denied the emergency motion as moot. Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented.

Bumatay argued that the government had a legitimate interest in preventing unlawful votes from being counted. The majority's procedural decision nevertheless left the request with the district court rather than imposing the ballot restrictions immediately.

California Challenges the Federal List

California officials say the government's data cannot justify the requested intervention. A preliminary Los Angeles County review of 200 records identified substantial issues, including 112 registrations that were inactive or cancelled. More than 70 per cent of the records had no California voting history. Those findings challenge the list's usefulness without determining every individual's eligibility.

State and county officials also argue that separating ballots at this stage would disrupt election administration. Once a verified ballot has been removed from its identifying envelope, it cannot simply be traced back to the voter and retrieved.

Carter is scheduled to hear the request on 27 October and has said he will rule promptly afterwards. The next decision will address the government's request for immediate restrictions. Monday's appellate ruling did not resolve the lawsuit's underlying allegations.