Appeals Court Dismisses DOJ Push to Set Aside California Ballots, Calling the Emergency 'Self-Constructed'
A 2-1 Ninth Circuit panel said prosecutors sued less than three weeks before the midterms, as Los Angeles County found most sampled names were inactive registrations.
A federal appeals court on Monday dismissed the Justice Department's attempt to force California election officials to set aside thousands of mail ballots that the Trump administration says may have been cast by noncitizens. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said the court lacked jurisdiction over the appeal, and it granted a motion from Los Angeles County's top elections official, Dean Logan, to dismiss the effort.
Judges Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Gabriel Sanchez, a Biden appointee, formed the majority. They said the government had not given the district court an 'adequate opportunity' to consider its request for temporary relief, and they faulted the department for filing suit less than three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections. The unsigned opinion described the claimed emergency as 'self-constructed,' at least in part. Bennett wrote separately that he would have rejected the request on the merits. Judge Patrick Bumatay, also a Trump appointee, dissented, arguing the federal government has a sovereign interest in protecting federal elections and keeping noncitizen votes from affecting results.
The dispute began when Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter sent letters to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Logan giving them 48 hours to review a list of more than 20,000 registered voters the administration considered 'likely' noncitizens who had been sent mail ballots. On October 15, Los Angeles County replied that the list included addresses across the state and did not explain how it was compiled or how the county could verify citizenship. The Justice Department sued California that same day.
The county's own review undercut the list. Of the 7,035 records with Los Angeles County addresses, officials examined a sample of 200 and found 112 corresponded to canceled or inactive registrations, meaning no ballot was ever mailed. Most sampled people had never voted, and more than a quarter listed a U.S. birthplace. Los Angeles County had already processed an estimated 550,000 mail ballots. The Department of Homeland Security has not explained to California officials how it identified the alleged ineligible voters.
The procedural path was unusual. The Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge David O. Carter for a restraining order, and when he scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, the department appealed, arguing his silence amounted to a 'constructive denial.' The panel held a rare Sunday oral argument, and at least two judges appeared skeptical. Logan's lawyers argued the requested relief exceeds the executive branch's power, citing the Elections Clause, which gives states authority over the 'times, places and manners' of congressional elections unless Congress acts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the ruling a 'welcome speed bump' against what he described as Trump's attacks on the Constitution and democracy. Trump has claimed hundreds of thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote, including more than 190,000 in California; federal and state law prohibit noncitizen voting, and California officials note the lawsuit does not allege the suspected noncitizens will vote unlawfully in November.
The fight is not over. On Friday, federal prosecutors sent letters to at least 18 other California county registrars with lists of alleged noncitizens and demanded they set aside those ballots. The Justice Department could ask the full 9th Circuit to reconsider, and the panel gave it until 7 p.m. local time to do so. Trump has also pressed Congress to pass voting legislation, including a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration.
