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Appeals Court Rejects DOJ Bid to Set Aside California Ballots
Confirmed
In Short: A panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the Justice Department's request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election.
The administration had alleged that California sent ballots to some 20,000 individuals who may not be U.S. citizens.
The unions, including the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, had asked a federal judge to block the Justice Department's demands.
The appeals court wrote, 'As the district court found - and we discern no clear error - there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system.'
The court also noted that the Justice Department's demands could disenfranchise citizens and put the entire tabulation process in jeopardy.
Circuit Judge Mark Bennett told Justice Department attorney Matthew Donnelly that the DOJ appeared to be asking the court to 'issue an injunction that is entirely inconsistent with the law that the California Legislature has adopted pursuant to the Elections Clause.'
The court ruled 2-1 that it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal and granted a motion by the top elections official from Los Angeles County to dismiss the effort.
California officials have countered that the list of alleged noncitizens is unverified and includes the names of lawful voters.
The court's decision comes as millions of people in California have already voted, and hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been processed.
The Trump administration appealed to the Ninth Circuit despite the fact that a district court judge has yet to rule in the dispute.
The Justice Department has also asked Washington to set aside ballots from 400-plus voters and sued Alaska over its Senate race.
What this adds
The appeals court's ruling adds to ongoing tensions between California and the DOJ over election integrity measures.
The court's decision highlights the challenges in verifying voter eligibility without disenfranchising eligible voters.
Background
The Justice Department (DOJ) faced skepticism from a federal appeals court panel on Sunday as it sought an emergency ruling to segregate ballots from alleged noncitizens in California's elections.
The Justice Department is suing California to verify ballots for noncitizens within 48 hours.
What's confirmed
- "As the district court found - and we discern no clear error - there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system," the appeals court wrote.
- The administration has alleged California sent ballots to some 20,000 people who may not be U.S.
- The unions, including the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, are asking a federal judge to temporarily block the Justice Department from demanding that local officials stop counting ballots and to drop threats to criminally prosecute officials who do not comply with their demands.
- It wants the state to set those ballots aside and not count them until citizenship can be verified.
- A district court judge already forcefully denied that request and warned that the Justice Department's demands could disenfranchise citizens.
- "any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy."
- Millions of people in California have already voted.
- "Major concerns remain that granting the United States's requested relief might result in immense hardship to Defendants and harm the public interest by risking the disenfranchisement of eligible voters and putting the entire tabulation process in jeopardy," they wrote.
- Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Friday rejected the Justice Department's request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election.
- Circuit Judge Mark Bennett told Justice Department attorney Matthew Donnelly, that the DOJ appeared to be asking the court to "issue an injunction that is entirely inconsistent with the law that the California Legislature has adopted pursuant to the Elections Clause."
What's still developing
- “The United States seeks this relief to prevent unlawful dilution of American citizens’ votes and to protect the integrity of our elections,” the DOJ wrote in a new filing to the Ninth Circuit.
- California and the DOJ are at loggerheads over election integrity measures, though the administration has yet to secure any meaningful wins in their dispute through the courts.
- The “United States has not made the required showing that such extraordinary relief, during an ongoing election, is clearly required by law,” a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found in a 2-1 ruling.
- “Because Congress has not exercised the specific power granted to it under the Elections Clause to override California’s established laws for challenging ballots or removing ineligible voters, the State Legislature’s statutory scheme remains the only method to do so,” the appellate court said.
- I mentioned yesterday that the Trump DOJ was seeking an immediate ruling on its emergency application for a temporary restraining order to force Los Angeles County to segregate and not count certain alleged noncitizen ballots.
- California has said the state’s safeguards against noncitizen voting are robust and, in a court filing, stated that the Justice Department’s assertions relied on suspect data.
- The Trump administration is demanding an emergency court order to stop California from counting ballots tied to more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens, warning that once the votes are mixed in, there may be no way to undo it.
- As reported appeals court expressed deep skepticism toward a Trump administration lawsuit seeking to force California to segregate and withhold roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots.