A federal appeals court has ordered California state officials to respond by noon Saturday to the Trump administration's emergency request concerning approximately 20,000 mail-in ballots sent to individuals the Justice Department suspects are noncitizens. This ruling comes after U.S. District Judge David Carter failed to issue a decision by the deadline previously requested by the DOJ, prompting the department to seek immediate relief from the Ninth Circuit.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued the order late Friday, escalating the legal battle over voter eligibility just weeks before the midterm elections. The DOJ is asking the court to require California election officials to set aside, or sequester, ballots associated with individuals on its list while their eligibility is reviewed, rather than allowing those ballots to be processed and counted alongside other votes.
What the Right Is Saying
The Trump administration and the Justice Department argue that the current processing of these ballots causes 'untraceable disenfranchisement' for U.S. citizens. In its emergency filing, submitted by Attorney General Todd Blanche and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the DOJ stated, 'Every minute of processing that occurs without segregating the ballots of suspected non-eligible voters causes untraceable disenfranchishment and dilution of the votes of United States citizens.' The filing emphasized the urgency of the situation, labeling it an 'emergency.'
Bill Essayli previously told Fox News Digital that federal investigators have evidence showing the 20,000 individuals received mail-in ballots in October. He argued that the state's citizenship verification procedures are inadequate, allowing noncitizens onto voter rolls. Essayli stated, 'We're not asking California to take any drastic steps other than to sequester the ballots from the suspected noncitizens,' adding, 'We believe it's at a minimum of 20,000. That's the floor.' The administration views this legal action as a necessary step to ensure the integrity of federal elections.
What the Left Is Saying
California election officials and state advocates argue that the federal government's demand is administratively impossible and lacks legal standing. In court filings, state officials stated that county election offices lack both the authority and the access to federal records necessary to verify the citizenship status of voters. They maintained that separating ballots associated with people on the DOJ's list would be impossible in cases where the ballots have already been processed.
Officials further explained that once a mail-in ballot's signature has been verified, the ballot is physically separated from its identifying envelope and processed with other ballots, making retroactive segregation impractical. According to court records cited in the dispute, officials have already processed 331,000 ballots in Los Angeles County alone. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has defended the integrity of the state's elections, asserting that California is following the law and rejecting the DOJ's characterization of its voter rolls as deficient.
What the Numbers Show
The dispute centers on a list of approximately 20,000 names delivered to Los Angeles County, which local officials declined to investigate within a 48-hour deadline provided by the federal government. The DOJ's initial suit was filed on Oct. 15, roughly two weeks after California began mailing ballots. As of the latest court records, 331,000 ballots have already been processed in Los Angeles County. The Ninth Circuit's order sets a hard deadline for California's response at noon Saturday, though a hearing before Judge Carter remains scheduled for Tuesday. It remains unclear whether the appeals court will rule on the merits before that Tuesday hearing.
The Bottom Line
This development marks a significant procedural escalation in the conflict between federal authorities and California state officials over election administration. The Ninth Circuit's intervention forces California to legally justify its inability or unwillingness to segregate the specific ballots in question by Saturday noon. The outcome will determine whether the 20,000 suspected noncitizen ballots are counted immediately or held in abeyance pending further review, with potential implications for the certification of results in the upcoming midterm elections.