Trump DOJ Asks Appeals Court to Intervene in California Ballot Case

Trump DOJ Asks Appeals Court to Intervene in California Ballot Case

Appeals Court Requested Before Lower Court Rules

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene in its lawsuit seeking to temporarily block California from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots from voters the Trump administration says are likely not U.S. citizens. The request came before U.S. District Judge David Carter ruled, with DOJ lawyers calling the unusual maneuver necessary because Carter had not decided by Thursday afternoon.

Dispute Over a Federal List of 20,000 Voters

The DOJ wants California to set aside ballots of individuals identified by the federal government and verify their citizenship before counting them. California is pushing back: Attorney General Rob Bonta's office moved to dismiss the lawsuit Wednesday night, while Secretary of State Shirley Weber questioned the federal list's research and warned against removing voters without adequate documentation. The dispute centers on a federal list of more than 20,000 people that Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan did not review within the department's requested timeframe.

Newsom's Sharp Rebuttal

California Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted the suit on social media, accusing the Trump administration of "demanding that California election officials VIOLATE federal law" and declaring that "California's elections are NOT Donald Trump's to control."

A Parallel Fight: DHS Noncitizen Voter Probe Curbed

Separately, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland ordered the Department of Homeland Security to halt investigations in nine states—California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin—into whether noncitizens are registered to vote, until polls close on Election Day, Nov. 3. She found the government's effort relies on data full of errors that can sweep U.S. citizens into the probe and is intimidating groups performing voter assistance. She delayed the order until Friday to give the administration a chance to appeal.

Flawed Data and the Scale of the Hunt

The judge described the initial target list as "voluminous and unreliable," noting DHS used data widely known to inadvertently include U.S. citizens. In late August, DHS directed hundreds of immigration agents to pause normal duties to search for evidence of noncitizen voting, according to whistleblower accounts. A USCIS whistleblower disclosed last month that rushed data-matching produced a target list including U.S. citizens. Agents were expected to review at least 40 suspected cases, with no more than 12 minutes to rule out each person using commercial databases.

Both Cases Move Toward Election-Day Deadlines

With the appeals court now asked to step in before Carter rules, and the DHS order on hold until Friday, both disputes will likely play out close to the Nov. 3 election. The DOJ seeks relief ahead of the lower court's decision, while California aims to have the case dismissed at the outset. The outcome will determine whether more than 20,000 California mail-in ballots face citizenship verification before being counted.