California officials have won a ruling in their dispute with the Trump administration over roughly 20,000 people identified as “likely noncitizen” voters.
The administration had asked the courts to require California to set aside ballots from voters on its list of potential noncitizens. But U.S. District Chief Judge James Boasberg said Monday that the state should decide how to administer its elections.
Boasberg wrote that the administration may have violated the Constitution’s Elections Clause, which gives states and Congress authority over election rules. California, he said, can choose how to verify voters’ citizenship and whether to count their mail-in ballots.
He also raised concerns about the list’s accuracy, warning that errors could keep eligible voters from casting ballots or having them counted.
During a hearing in San Francisco, a government attorney acknowledged that the list had a “high error rate.” U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson said that including eligible voters on a flawed, overly broad list was a serious concern.
The administration has also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene on an emergency basis and require California to segregate the ballots.
California officials say the list is being used to unfairly influence the election. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called the Justice Department’s lawsuit a politically motivated attempt to suppress votes, and said the state would defend its elections.
Boasberg, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, has faced accusations of political bias against the Trump administration.
