Justice Department appeals ruling allowing California to count disputed ballots
Photo: WPLG Local 10 – Politics
The Trump administration has asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily block California from counting up to 20,000 disputed ballots alleged to belong to noncitizens, following a lower court rejection. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter previously denied the request to segregate the ballots, citing federal laws prohibiting late election procedure changes and the risk of disenfranchising eligible citizens. The appeal seeks an expedited ruling as ballot processing continues statewide.
Read the full story at WPLG Local 10 – PoliticsWhy It Matters
The outcome determines whether thousands of disputed ballots in California are segregated and withheld from the official vote count or processed alongside millions of other votes, impacting ongoing midterm election tallies.
Key Facts
- The Justice Department asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily prevent California from counting up to 20,000 disputed ballots.
- The administration alleges the disputed ballots were sent to individuals who are registered to vote but are not U.S. citizens.
- U.S. District Judge David O. Carter forcefully rejected the Justice Department's request to compel California to segregate the ballots.
- Judge Carter argued that the federal demand violated the National Voting Rights Act, which prohibits changing election procedures within 90 days of an election.
- Both sides agreed that an unspecified number of U.S. citizens were inadvertently included on the federal government's list of alleged noncitizens.
- Over 500,000 votes have already been processed in Los Angeles County alone.
- Federal authorities have charged over two dozen foreign nationals in California for illegally registering or voting in U.S. elections.
- A previous three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit previously considered the case, with two judges expressing skepticism about setting aside ballots at a late date and one judge dissenting.