Federal Appeals Court Upholds California Mail Ballots Amid Noncitizen Controversy
A federal appeals court has decided not to require California to set aside around 20,000 mail-in ballots associated with voters that the Trump administration claims are noncitizens.
In a 2-1 ruling made on Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an emergency request from the Justice Department to exclude those ballots from counting while the eligibility of the voters is investigated. The majority opinion indicated that the government’s sense of urgency stemmed partly from its own actions. However, Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, asserting that the federal government has a vested interest in protecting the integrity of federal elections.
The dispute began on October 15 when the DOJ filed a lawsuit against California regarding a list of over 20,000 registered voters flagged by federal agencies as likely being noncitizens. Prosecutors sought to have the state verify each voter’s citizenship or at least isolate those ballots. California, however, rejected this request, challenging both the legitimacy of the data and the tight deadline imposed.
Federal prosecutor Bill Essayli pointed out that California made a surprising admission during a court hearing the day before. According to him, California acknowledged that it does not conduct independent verification of its voters’ citizenship status, meaning that any ballot submitted by a noncitizen would be counted unless the judges intervened. He argued that this was the rationale behind seeking the emergency order, claiming that illegal votes undermine valid ones.
The government has explained its process for identifying the flagged list. It began with California’s voter rolls, passed the names through commercial databases for additional verification, and cross-referenced them with immigration and Social Security records to eliminate citizens and deceased individuals. The remainder was then reviewed manually by federal investigators.
The three-judge panel that evaluated the case on Sunday did not seem entirely persuaded. One judge appointed by Trump suggested that the order sought by the government contradicted California’s own laws. Additionally, the panel questioned why the DOJ felt compelled to intervene before the district court had made its ruling.
This case is part of a broader initiative by the Justice Department leading up to the November 3 election. Just last week, prosecutors charged 28 green card holders in California with illegally registering to vote or casting ballots, arresting 11 of those individuals. Notably, all 28 appeared on the flagged list provided by the federal government.
California’s Democratic Attorney General has contended that the federal stance would upend the Constitution by allowing federal authorities to dictate state election processes. Interestingly, Los Angeles County reported that a review of the federal list included individuals claiming to be born in the United States. However, a Department of Homeland Security official countered that records from USCIS indicated none of the names sampled were actually U.S.-born.
The case has now returned to the district court, where a judge heard arguments on Tuesday but did not issue an immediate ruling.
